In what will probably go down as one of the more unusual comparisons to be made by a manager when trying to pay a compliment to his team, Claudio Ranieri has likened Leicester City to Forrest Gump because of their stamina levels and his players’ ability to “run, run, run”.
Speaking before the Boxing Day game at Liverpool, where Leicester hope to continue the extraordinary run of results that has taken them two points clear at the top of the Premier League, Ranieri said his players would not come up short this season because of their spirit or fitness.
In addition to what he has seen since taking over as manager in July, Ranieri pointed to last season’s great escape under Nigel Pearson – Leicester won seven of their final nine league games to climb clear of the relegation zone – as evidence of the energy levels in a squad who will no doubt find amusement in their manager’s interesting analogy.
“Look, I am very confident because if Leicester last season saved themselves in the last two months that means the stamina is fantastic,” Ranieri said. “Why can’t we continue to run, run, run? We are like Forrest Gump. Leicester is Forrest Gump. I give you the headline there.”
Forrest Gump or not, Leicester’s recent victories over Chelsea and Everton have provided a measure of the growing confidence among Ranieri’s players.
Leicester have taken 26 points from a possible 30, they are the highest scorers in the league and in Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez they possess two outstanding individuals.
Yet it is the team ethic and the camaraderie that pleases Ranieri most. “It is important that they are very close together. They are friendly,” he said. “We don’t have the high quality like Manchester City and Arsenal but we fight together. Every ball for us is the last ball. That’s what we believe. First minute or last minute, every ball is important.”
