“I believe Sunday is so monumental because of what took place against West Ham last week, the first hint of anxiety in what was in danger of becoming a title procession”. It is hard but we have everything in our hands.
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“Now this is the last part of the race so let’s push with our heart and our soul”. Carry on and keep going, smiling and fight.
“But I prefer to stay five points higher!”
It has been a long time coming for Spurs, who have always been among the most glamorous and best supported teams in England despite not winning the title since 1961.
They could win the title with victory at Manchester United next Saturday if results go for them, with Tottenham hosting West Brom on Monday.
Ranieri will be without Jamie Vardy for that game, following the striker’s controversial dismissal against West Ham United last Sunday, but the Leicester manager was reluctant to wade into the English Football Association’s decision to charge the striker with improper conduct.
Leonardo Ulloa is likely to start in a straight swap for Vardy but pacy wide man Jeff Schlupp is also an option. Without Vardy we will make another strategy but we will see on Sunday. Of course, it needs to be spent wisely, but these teams all have a big draw to top players. “But I don’t like to speak about what’s happened, I try to forget it and think about the next game”.
“It is fantastic”, he added.
Pochettino, whose Tottenham side are nearly at full strength, ramped up the pressure on the leaders with his praise for Vardy.
The news wasn’t all bad for Vardy and Leicester City, though, as four Leicester City players, including the aforementioned Jamie Vardy, were included in the PFA Premier League team of the year.
The Foxes are now five points clear of Tottenham Hotspur at the top with four games to play, but they’ll need to work hard to have any chance of extending that gap.
He expects Tottenham to win all four of their remaining games.
“Leicester’s best players will be cherry-picked in the summer, and the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City will come back stronger”.
‘I believe that in football the players are professional, the managers are professional, ‘ he said.
Harry Kane, who leads the scoring charts with 24 goals, said that playing after their title rivals was no problem. Now Ranieri’s team is a staggering 29 points ahead of defending champion Chelsea, with the two teams meeting in the last round.
“It’s not about one good season, it’s about being consistent”.
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He said: “It was normal to accept it. We know he has one match off and our preparation is without him”.
