Leicester boss Ranieri warns Vardy and Mahrez: You're not guaranteed a starting place

Posted Saturday, September 10, 2016 by Express.co.uk

JAMIE VARDY and Riyad Mahrez have been warned their places are under threat as Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri gets tough in a bid to retain their Premier League title.

The Italian has spent £65million on bringing in fresh blood during the summer – including club-record striker Islam Slimani for £28m – and says he has no problem swinging the axe on any of his golden boys.

In a break from his usual affable and relaxed demeanour, Ranieri claimed past reputations will count for nothing if he feels standards are dropping.

"There is not a hierarchy [at Leicester] – it's not a case that somebody who played last season is assured to play this season," he said. "I watch every training session and I watch every match and if someone I see is better, then I change.

"Nobody is sure of their shirt. They have to stay at the highest level and, when I see one of them is a bit down, I have a player to replace them."

Slimani is set to come into the side which faces Liverpool at Anfield this afternoon and believes having a strong squad is vital, with the club embarking on Champions League football as well – with the club making their debut in the competition at Club Bruges on Wednesday.

"It was not the first XI who won the title – all the players won it," he said. "All the players are champions of the Premier League. I don't remember who played 38 games or just one. For me it was a group who won the title.

"So they must understand the leader is the team. Last season we won the title because the team was over everyone. It was the leader. You see how they played. Maybe some of them were just the last four minutes but who played went on the pitch and played so hard. I want to see the same spirit. Our strength is our spirit."

His jokey self was never too far away, however and Ranieri believes another Leicester title victory this season would have some of the top managers reaching in the drawer for a pistol.

"Always Leicester are the underdogs," he said. "The pressure isn't on us because we won it – there are others who have to win the title. We have to defend it and there is a big difference. It will be another fairy-tale if we win the title again.

"But if we did then there will be some other managers who will have to shoot themselves."

That spirit so prevalent at Leicester last season is something Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is also calling for, saying he must "deliver" a team the new-look Anfield deserves after the club officially opened its £115m Main Stand.

The towering structure increases the capacity by a further 8,500 seats to more than 54,000 and hosts Liverpool's first home game of the season today.

Klopp believes the stadium expansion will benefit his players, creating a wall of sound at a venue which has been too accommodating to opponents in recent seasons. Yet the Liverpool manager accepted it is ultimately down to him and his player to ensure results improve in front of their own supporters.

"It's good. It's close. It's more. It's big. I love it," said Klopp, who will consider Daniel Sturridge for a starting role with Philippe Coutinho having been absent for the first part of the week due to international commitments with Brazil.

"It's not about coming here and cheering until we arrive at the stadium and then getting bored. We have to deliver. That's what we have to do. We don't expect people to celebrate with themselves. Let's try and make the first step in our future.

"It's all about the last five or six per cent in a game. How can you bring in the last five per cent? That's attitude, that's character, that's mentality, that's the crowd, that's noise. That's togetherness. This stadium was never an excuse and it's not now."