Leicester’s talisman striker Jamie Vardy has said so avoiding relegation with the Foxes would be the ‘greatest achievement’ of his storied career, which saw the 36-year-old win the Premier League and the FA Cup.
The Foxes have languished in the relegation places for parts of the season and are now 18th in the table with just three games to play.
With just three points between Leicester, Leeds, Everton and Nottingham Forest, the battle to stay in the top flight looks likely to come to a dramatic end on the final day of the season.
Having played for the club since their last promotion in 2014, Vardy played a starring role in the side’s miraculous title win just two years later, but the veteran striker was sidelined under former manager Brendan Rodgers as the club struggled for form.
Following Rodgers’ sacking in April, new manager Dean Smith has put more confidence in Vardy, who paid off as the player broke his goal-scoring drought in Leicester’s 1-1 draw with Leeds and scored again the following week in a spirited 2-2 draw Everton.
Jamie Vardy shared the physical ‘pain’ he feels as Leicester fight to stay in the top flight
The striker has seen a return to form of late, but the Foxes have limited time to impress
But despite his personal return to form, Vardy shared talkSPORT of the ‘pain’ he feels to stay at the club where he became an icon.
“I think it would be the biggest achievement at the moment,” Vardy told the broadcaster. “It’s that important.”
“It’s hard and I don’t think hurt is actually a strong enough word to personally describe how I feel as a person having been here so long.
“Being ups and downs all the time I’ve been here, I’ve never wanted to see us in a situation like that again, so to be where we are now is hard to accept.
“There’s nothing we can do about what’s going on, it’s gone now. We can’t change the results of games that have ended, we know it, we now have three games to go and we need to get points – it’s that simple.’
Vardy joined Leicester from National League outfit Fleetwood Town in 2012 and his rise from non-league striker to Premier League Player of the Season during the Foxes’ successful title run is one of the most awe-inspiring stories in recent history.
His ties to the club run deep and Vardy shared that he felt the pain of impending relegation ‘on a personal level’.
‘I love this club. It hurts me a lot on a personal level,” said Vardy. “I need to be someone who stands up and takes accountability. I have to do my utmost and try to help the team as much as possible.’
The 36-year-old returns to the starting line-up under new manager Dean Smith
But Monday’s capitulation against Fulham did not diminish the relegation threat
Leicester have been penalized this season for a leaky defense – which has seen the side fail to keep a clean sheet since early November 2022 – and have struggled with injuries and a divided dressing room under Rodgers, but Vardy admitted he was unable to finish find out what had led to the team’s current situation.
“No, I really can’t (figure out the problem),” he said. “I think if you ask 99 percent of people, they couldn’t have seen this happen.
“It’s been hard to work out why and what happened that put us in this situation, you can’t put your finger on it.
“But it’s the situation we’re in and we need to get up and be counted and make sure we do everything we can to get as many points as possible in these last three games. give us a chance.’
Vardy discussed his own drop in form, which saw the striker off the scoresheet between October and the end of April, adding: ‘I can’t put my finger on it myself, it’s been very hard. I’m a striker, all I want to do is score goals and help the team and that hasn’t happened this year for some reason.
“I think one thing we’ve done in the past probably since the game against Man City, even the game against Man City, is we’ve scored goals for them again and if you look at the past few years we’ve created those . clear chances and really good chances for each other and I think that kind of faded for the vast majority of this season.
“Yes, we lost to Man City, but could we have got something out of the game with the chances we created? Yes we could. And the way we defended that day as a closed unit was really good.
Vardy won the Premier League with Leicester in 2016, but escaping the decline would be a much bigger achievement for the player
“You looked at the next performance and we created the chances again, but it didn’t happen, but as long as the chances come and we’re still creating, then as a team we’ll make sure we get the points. ‘
Leicester have a job ahead of them to secure their second win in 16 games against Liverpool, Newcastle and West Ham as the season comes to a close.
All three teams have come in impressive form of late, with Liverpool now challenging for a top-four finish after sitting comfortably in mid-table for much of the season.
West Ham are close to completing their grand escape from the relegation scandal after beating Manchester United on Sunday and holding title chase Arsenal to a 2-2 draw in April.