Jamie Vardy: Holiday decision spurred me on to lead Leicester to Prem glory
An impromptu break was the catalyst for famous Foxes’ fairytale ending to their incredible history-making season
JAMIE VARDY has hailed Claudio Ranieri’s title masterstroke — sending his players on holiday DURING the run-in.
The Leicester hero reckons Ranieri’s decision to give them a week off in February was the secret to their fairytale Prem success.
Leicester had just faced a brutal 12-day period in which they beat Manchester City and Liverpool, before losing in the last minute at Arsenal.
So canny boss Ranieri raised eyebrows by telling his stars to put their feet up — and they have not lost since to see off rivals Tottenham to the title.
Vardy, 29, said: “It was a great idea. It worked perfectly — no one was going to go off on a seven-day bender.
“I went to Dubai and just remember sitting on a sun lounger while, in the same hotel, Sunderland players were running up and down the beach doing fitness work on a club break.
“For me, to be relaxing while they were doing all that training was quite nice.”
Not content with just chilling round the pool, Vardy proved why he is so unflappable out on the pitch... by calmly feeding a tiger on a trip to the zoo.
Looking back at their crucial three games before the break, he said: “They were massive. To get three points at the Etihad after three points at home to Liverpool — and then to get the killer blow at the end of the Arsenal game.
"We lost, but that performance showed how well we were playing. The gaffer had seen how much we’d all fought for each other and put into that match.
“As we’d been knocked out of the FA Cup, he gave us a week off to forget about everything and recharge the batteries.
“I think for the boss to even think about letting us do that showed what he thought of us as a team. To get our batteries recharged and come back stronger was a massive part.”
Vardy won the Conference title with Fleetwood four years ago and the Championship with Leicester in 2014.
Now he is adding a Premier League medal to his collection.
The Foxes top-scorer said: “It’s hung up at the side of my bed at the minute. In a few weeks’ time I’ll get it put with the rest of the medals I have — in my little man cave at home!”
Vardy agreed with Italian Ranieri that the 3-1 win at Manchester City on February 6 was THE moment the players believed they could win the title.
He added: “No one expected us to get anything. I think that showed a few of the other teams that the bubble hadn’t burst. We were there to stay.”
Now Vardy is preparing for an assault on the Champions League next season — but he insists the Foxes’ style of football will stay the same.
He said: “We’ve got ourselves into this situation playing that way — why change it? We will hopefully make sure it works for us again in Europe. A lot of European teams will have probably been watching us.”
Vardy was speaking at the launch of his V9 Academy, which aims to discover non-league talent and help them get into the professional game.
The England striker played non-league football with Stocksbridge Park Steels, FC Halifax and Fleetwood until 2012 — after Sheffield Wednesday released him for being too small.
Vardy recalled: “That was the reason I was given. I wasn’t right for the physicality. I don’t think anyone can be told if they’re good enough at 15 or 16, when you still have so many years to grow and develop.
“Probably hundreds are told the same and have to drop down, too. Hopefully we can find them, get them to the academy and get them through. I’ve done it — that’s there for people to see. I doubted myself as soon as I got released. It was my boyhood club,
“But I moved to Fleetwood on the last day of the window. There was a game that night and I expected to be on the substitutes’ bench. Then the manager Micky Mellon called me into his office and said I was starting.
“I put in a man-of-the-match performance and ended up with three staples in my head, caused by a York centre-half’s teeth!”
For more details on Jamie Vardy’s V9 Academy, go to