Claudio Ranieri expects a “terrible” last five games for Leicester, and explains his tears at the weekend.
The Foxes are seven points clear at the top of the English Premier League with just five games to go, having almost been relegated last season.
“It’s not done yet though,” Ranieri warned in an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport.
“We’re in the Champions League, even the preliminary round of the Champions League, but the last five games will be terrible.
Claudio Ranieri expects a “terrible” last five games for Leicester, and explains his tears at the weekend.
The Foxes are seven points clear at the top of the English Premier League with just five games to go, having almost been relegated last season.
“It’s not done yet though,” Ranieri warned in an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport.
“We’re in the Champions League, even the preliminary round of the Champions League, but the last five games will be terrible.
“Tottenham won’t give up and we have to stay focused.
“I never think about what others do, but what I have to do and doing our work in the best way.
“If Tottenham overtake us then we’ll congratulate them. That’s how sport works.
“Our work rate? That’s our great asset. I knew right away in the training camp in Austria that this team has a special moral strength.
“They’re good lads, facing the story of their lives with great responsibility. In the week they work hard, then when the game comes around they’re laughing and joking in the dressing room getting ready to take to the pitch.
“Nobody saves themselves or stops for breath.”
Leicester beat Sunderland 2-0 at the Stadium of Light on Sunday, and Ranieri was visibly emotional after the final whistle.
“They weren’t real tears, they were unshed tears. It was an emotional moment.
“Seeing all those people around us, entire families on buses in Leicester shirts to follow us up to Sunderland – that struck me deeply.
“At times like that you realised the extraordinary power of football. When our sport brings this positivity you can’t remain indifferent.
“In the Press room afterward I wanted to explain the concept, but it’s already difficult for me to express my feelings in Italian, let alone English.
“I have a public role, and I try to be level-headed. I have to give clear signals to my team, I can’t get carried away by emotion.
“My wife Rosanna is my rock. In July we’ll celebrate 40 years of marriage. Then there’s my daughter, and my grandson Orlando who is 14 months.
“I see him on Skype. When he calls me ‘Grandpa’ that’s a really strong emotion.
“The attention surrounding Leicester? It’s the power of the media. In the 90s when I was in charge of Valencia and we got important results, it didn’t unleash this kind of whirlwind.
“Today there’s all this TV which brings games from around the world into your living room, there’s Facebook and Twitter, there’s the internet…”
Finally, the former Juventus Coach was asked about Jose Mourinho, with the pair having clashed during his time with the Bianconeri, when Mou was at Inter.
“When I arrived at Inter he called me to congratulate me. That was the start of a beautiful relationship. I know Jose, and he knows Claudio.”