Craig Shakespeare says Leicester's Jamie Vardy once had to be talked out of quitting game
Tuesday 4 April 2017 07:21, UK
Leicester boss Craig Shakespeare says England international striker Jamie Vardy once had to be talked out of quitting the game and heading to Ibiza to work as a party rep.
Vardy is now a key member of the Leicester squad but struggled in the 2012-13 campaign upon joining the Foxes from Fleetwood and, having scored just five goals in 29 games, he considered quitting life as a full-time pro.
But Shakespeare, who was joint-assistant manager at the time under Nigel Pearson, says the management team were able to persuade Vardy to remain at the club.
The decision has paid off in a huge way, as the 30-year-old Vardy has gone on to play a huge part in Leicester's Premier League title win last season and earn 16 England caps.
Speaking ahead of Tuesday's game with Sunderland, Shakespeare said: "I remember the situation [with Vardy] really well.
"At that time Jamie would be the first to admit he was going through a rough patch and myself Nigel and Steve [Walsh, fellow assistant-manager] sat him down and told him about his attributes and that we thought he could go on.
"We not only mentioned he was capable of playing in the Premier League, we said he also had the attributes to play for the national team.
"Thankfully he didn't go to Ibiza and it's fair to say he made the right decision, considering how well he has done.
"Our job is to support players. Sometimes they do have self-doubt."
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