To Gary Lineker it seemed “uninspiring”, to Leicester’s players, on the other hand, it was a wow moment. That, at any rate, is how Jeffrey Schlupp recalls last July’s unveiling of Claudio Ranieri as the club’s new manager. Leicester were on a pre-season training camp in Austria at the time and, before any public announcement, the players were summoned to be given the news.
“We were all gathered in a room and he walked through and it was: ‘Wow, it’s Ranieri, he’s a big name!’” says Schlupp. “It was just excitement. For the club to go out and get such a high-calibre manager it showed where the club was going. And he’s proved himself.”
He certainly has, and all the doubters were converted to admirers long before this weekend, when Ranieri could crown his vindication by inspiring Leicester to a victory at Manchester United that would seal one of football’s most extraordinary title triumphs. Schlupp, like many of the players, valued Ranieri’s predecessor, Nigel Pearson, who led Leicester up from the Championship two years ago before overseeing last season’s belated but swashbuckling survival mission.
Ranieri told his new squad he would build on their qualities by making small adjustments that would “transform” them. But no one, not even the Italian, expected the team to metamorphosise from strugglers into champions.
“It’s never been a secret our target was to stay up but he almost just filled us with confidence again,” says Schlupp. “He said that he’d watched a lot of our games, that we were a lot better than where we were last season. And the lads felt good about it, from the first training session onwards it was just good vibes. He said the Italian philosophy is to defend and have a good shape and he just wanted to add a few things that he had used in the past and thought worked well. He said it would transform us as a team and that’s what he’s done.”
It is particularly interesting to hear Schlupp praise the manager because this is a player who, even before suffering a hamstring injury in November, was dropped by Ranieri. Schlupp, who was voted Leicester’s players’ player of the year last season, began this campaign at left-back but was moved to midfield when Ranieri introduced new full-backs Christian Fuchs and, on the right, Danny Simpson in response to October’s 5-2 defeat by Arsenal. Then Schlupp lost his place in midfield, too. Instead of sulking he embraced the challenge to improve.
“We lost against Arsenal and conceded five goals so the manager changed it. You take it on the chin,” says Schlupp. “I think Danny Simpson’s and Christian Fuchs’s performances all season since they’ve come in have spoken for themselves. They’ve been fantastic. I look at how Christian plays at left-back and I’m learning off him. He’s a top player, captain of his country, and he shows why. Danny is the same: he’s had a great career with Premier League experience and he shows it when he plays. I’ve had a few chats with Ranieri, of course, and he says he wants to see me further up the field at left-midfield. I’m comfortable anywhere on the left-hand side so I’m willing to learn and listen to what he says. I’ll go from there.”
After recovering from his injury Schlupp, like others such as Leonardo Ulloa, Andy King and Demarai Gray, has made important contributions from the bench or, in the case of Ulloa since Jamie Vardy’s suspension, as a starter. That is testament to the united sense of purpose in Leicester’s squad. “If you saw us in training, it’s just pure passion and togetherness. Everyone’s so close, everyone knows what to do if they are called upon in the first team.”
There was a moment, just three years ago, when Manchester United thought Schlupp might become a player who could win titles at Old Trafford for them. The only time he nearly left Leicester was in 2013 when the then 20-year-old had a six-week trial at United. “I was training with the under-21s and the first team,” he recalls. “It was a great experience, training with players of that calibre. I’m forever grateful for getting the opportunity to see what it’s like and I think it’s moulded me into the player I am today.
“It was the summer when Sir Alex Ferguson retired and Mike Phelan and René Meulensteen also left so nothing came of it. But I did meet Sir Alex a couple of times. He was really nice to me and just told me I’m here because I’m a good player, just to enjoy it and then who knows what will happen.” Who indeed.
