Jamie Vardy opens up on heartache of Leicester's plight - "it's hard to take"

10 May 2023 , 14:55

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Jamie Vardy insists avoiding relegation would be his biggest achievement at Leicester (Image: Getty Images)

Jamie Vardy claims keeping Leicester in the Premier League would eclipse the Premier League and FA Cup triumphs as his biggest achievement at the club.

Leicester are 18th in the drop zone with just three games to go and two points adrift of safety. Veteran striker Vardy is dismayed at the plight of the club where he won the title in 2015/16 and the 2021 FA Cup.

The star has been at the Foxes since 2012 and become synonymous with them after staying loyal to Leicester while other stars quit. Vardy admitted. “I think at this moment in time it would be the biggest achievement. That’s how important it is.

“It’s hard. I don’t think ‘hurting’ is actually a strong enough word for how I’m feeling," he told talkSPORT. "Being here that long and being on all the ups and downs through the entire time I’ve been here, I’ve never wanted to see us being in a situation like that again.

“To be where we are, it’s hard to take. But we can’t do anything about what’s gone. It’s gone now, we can’t change results from games that have gone. We’ve got three games left now and we need to pick up points, it’s that simple.”

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Vardy also won promotion at the club and beat the drop in 2015 before going on to win the title and then the golden boot in 2019/20. But he is now focused on firing Leicester to safety after being used sparingly, mainly as a sub, by Brendan Rodgers.

Vardy saw his penalty saved against Fulham as Leicester slipped to defeat (Katie Chan/Action Plus/REX/Shutterstock)

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With Kelechi Iheanacho coming back from injury, Vardy is expected to lead the line again at home to Liverpool on Monday. The forward has been sparked back into life since Dean Smith took over last month, notching in successive games against Leeds and Everton to end a six-month Premier League goal drought.

His goal against Everton was reminiscent of his best form as he used his pace to run on to a through ball and finish coolly like in his prime. Vardy nearly scored for the third game in a row at Fulham but had a penalty saved.

And while his tally of five shots on target from the past three games may not sound like many, it’s more than in his 23 previous Premier League appearances combined with Smith pledging to play to the striker's strengths.

James Nursey