Leicester boss not getting carried away
Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri says his players cannot join their fans in dreaming of glory despite a stunning start to the Premier League season.
|||Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri says his players cannot join their fans in dreaming of glory despite a stunning start to the Premier League season.
Ranieri's men climbed to second in the table with a thrilling comeback from 2-0 down to beat Aston Villa 3-2 on Sunday.
And Ranieri says the Foxes supporters should revel in their unbeaten start to the season - but insists his team must keep their feet on the ground with 40 points to guarantee another top-flight season still their aim.
“It's not March or April,” said Ranieri. “If I am second in the table in April, fantastic.
“But it is only September and I think about 29 points more - this is our goal.
“After that we can dream, but not now.
“The fans can dream. That is right. When I was a fan I went to the stadium to dream, but we have to keep solid feet on the ground.
“We know the Premier League and sport is very changeable. We have to be very concentrated and focused on our goal.
“The goal is to stay in the Premier League and after that we can dream.”
Nathan Dyer scored on his debut to cap a remarkable Leicester comeback with the winning goal.
The Foxes struck three times in the final 18 minutes to clinch a stirring victory from 2-0 down with Ritchie De Laet and Jamie Vardy also on target.
Jack Grealish had scored a stunning first Aston Villa goal to give the visitors a deserved lead on 39 minutes before Carles Gil scored another fine goal to double their lead.
Leicester, however, showed their fighting qualities to turn the game around and maintain Ranieri's fine comeback to the Premier League scene with Riyad Mahrez again catching the eye with a key role in all three Foxes goals.
“My players showed a fantastic character and a good spirit,” said Ranieri, whose side remain unbeaten after five games.
“Never give up - that is the spirit that I want.”
Villa face a week of self-examination after squandering an apparently dominant position at the King Power Stadium.
They face local rivals West Brom in the Premier League and Birmingham City in the League Cup in their next two matches in two huge derbies.
“I'm always negative when we lose but I'm still realistic enough to know that we are making strides in the right direction but if you're not picking up points then no one believes you,” said Sherwood.
“For me it's all about winning football matches and we haven't won another one.
“We've got two of the biggest football matches this club is ever going to have in the next two weeks.
“I've never felt this bad, ever. There was a lot of bad play there in the last half hour.
“The only way you can stop the momentum is to stop the opposition. We turned the ball over stupidly.
“What can I say? I'm gutted for everyone who's associated with the football club. We have to stop letting in soft goals.
“Who cares if we played well? We lost.
“The first goal was a killer because that gave them the lift.
“It was calamity after that. The goals were shocking.” – AFP