With nine matches to play, Leicester City hold a five-point lead at the top of the Premier League table.
Manager Claudio Ranieri has remained grounded all season, never talking about the title and only thinking of the next fixture on the schedule.
[ MORE: Premier League standings ]
Now that the Foxes are title favorites, some believed Leicester would stumble down the stretch. However, they continue to push on.
When asked if he was feeling any nerves as the season’s end nears closer, Ranieri said quite the opposite. The mood around Leicester is calm and focused on the task at hand, as the Italian reminded everyone of the state of the club when he took over in July.
We’re not nervous. Our job is done. Our job was to save the team. This is an amazing season for us. Everything we achieve is something more.
The others must be nervous, the others spend a lot of money to win the title. We have to build slowly, slowly.
The target was to save the team, and it is important that you are reminded what our target was. When we got to 39 points at the end of the first part of the season I said ‘I want to improve. Now I want to do 40'.
When I arrive at 79, maybe I want to arrive at 80, 81. I don’t know? But now our focus is on Newcastle.
Compared to the other teams in the title hunt, Leicester has a relatively favorable schedule which includes matchups with relegation-threatened clubs Newcastle, Swansea, and Sunderland.
[ MORE: Van Gaal thinks Manchester United must win out to finish top-four ]
Leicester also has only the Premier League to focus on, as Spurs, Arsenal, and Manchester City are all still playing in Europe as well. Ranieri and Leicester have not shown any nerves all season long, and they will be confident heading down the stretch that they can pull off the impossible, one point at a time.
