Twelve months ago, Leicester City began the Premier League season targeting 40 points — enough, said their manager, for safety. In May, having begun the season as 5000-1 shots, Claudio Ranieri’s side ended up with 81 points and the Premier League title, the biggest shock in English league history.
They go into the new season, which begins this weekend, as champions and direct entrants into the group stages of the Champions League but for Ranieri, nothing has changed.
“Forty points,” Ranieri told reporters on Sunday after Leicester’s 2-1 defeat by Manchester United in the traditional curtain-raiser, the Community Shield, at Wembley.
“Don’t laugh. I restart with the same philosophy, the same humility, that is it. What we achieved was fantastic, but now, 40 points. Then, we’ll see.” Ranieri’s philosophy was simple but his side’s success was built around teamwork, an absence of egos, a solid defence and three outstanding players in Riyah Mahrez, N’Golo Kante and striker Jamie Vardy.
Vardy’s 24 goals, including a Premier League record of a goal in 11 straight matches, combined with 17 for Mahrez, helped Leicester stun the favourites and maintain their nerve in the run-in.
But it was the performance of France midfielder Kante that many felt was the key to their success.
Kante is the only leading Leicester player to have left the club this summer, for a big money move to Chelsea, and Ranieri knows that coping without him will not be easy.
Balancing Premier League success with a first season in Europe is likely to present Leicester with a tough challenge and Ranieri says he will have to be smart about how he uses his players.
“When you play for the first time (as) a team who play in the Champions League you lose a lot of mental energy,” he said.
“That is the real problem. You want to kill the opponent and be aggressive but it is difficult to recharge the batteries for a team that is playing in it for the first time.
“The big teams are used to playing in it, for us it is new. I must understand this modulation.”
Leicester will begin their season away to newly-promoted Hull City, a match Ranieri will not take for granted after admitting his team are not yet at 100%.
However, Ranieri was delighted with the effort and application his side showed against Manchester United and knows they will improve.
“I’m very proud and I’m very happy because we worked so hard,” he said.
“I told the players that we aren’t ready yet, but give me 120 per cent. Help each other and run for your teammates. They did this and I’m very pleased.”
Three points against Hull and they will be a step closer to safety, at least.