Thursday 7 April 2016 08:41, UK
Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri has described top scorer Jamie Vardy as "a fantastic horse" as they enter the home straight of the Premier League title race.
The Foxes go into the final six matches of the campaign knowing four victories will be enough to win the league for the first time in their history, having started the season as one of the favourites for the drop.
Vardy has been one of the key reasons behind their success, scoring 19 goals, including a record run of 11 goals in successive league matches between August and November.
That impressive form has also earned him his first international caps and goals for England and Ranieri was keen to highlight his thoroughbred status ahead of the Super Sunday clash with Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.
"This is not a footballer. This is a fantastic horse," he told The Player's Tribune website.
Some impressive performances at club level have also seen midfielder N'Golo Kante called up by France, while a number of other previously unfancied players have come to the fore during Leicester's remarkable rise to the top.
"Perhaps you have heard their names now. Players who were considered too small or too slow for other big clubs. N'Golo Kante. Jamie Vardy. Wes Morgan. Danny Drinkwater. Riyad Mahrez," said Ranieri.
"When I arrived my first day of training and I saw the quality of these players, I knew how good they could be. I knew we had a chance to survive in the Premier League.
"This player Kante, he was running so hard that I thought he must have a pack full of batteries hidden in his shorts. He never stopped running in training."
This player Kante, he was running so hard that I thought he must have a pack full of batteries hidden in his shorts.
Ranieri's side have been praised for their work ethic and team spirit and the Italian revealed they were among the key factors he tried to instil in his players from day one.
"Before we played our first match I told the players, 'I want you to play for your team-mates," he said.
"'We are a little team, so we have to fight with all our heart, with all our soul. I don't care the name of the opponent.
"All I want is for you to fight. If they are better than us, Okay, congratulations. But they have to show us they are better.'
"We have six games remaining, and we must continue fighting with our heart and our soul.
"This is a small club that is showing the world what can be achieved through spirit and determination. Twenty-six players, 26 different brains, but one heart."
Watch Sunderland v Leicester on Super Sunday. Coverage begins on Sky Sports 1 HD at 12:30pm.
