"We want to do our best. I'm positive and I want to fight. Yes, a
top 10 target, to make a very good campaign in Europe and the Cup and to
make sure the season is safe and then something more."
Leicester cannot repeat their title glory - Ranieri(Reuters)
Claudio Ranieri warned Leicester City fans, who were still in dreamland on Tuesday following their side's "unbelievable" Premier League triumph, that a repeat next season could not happen.
The
Foxes' Italian manager, talking for the first time since Leicester's
victory was sealed on Monday evening when nearest rivals Tottenham Hotspur failed to beat Chelsea, said their target now as champions would be a top-10 position.
It
was a typical response from Ranieri, who has spent all season dampening
down the expectations of supporters only to finally oversee a triumph
considered perhaps the most unlikely in the annals of English football.
Ranieri,
back at the Leicester training ground and meeting up with his players
for the first time since they were crowned champions, described their
success as "unbelievable".
He said it was the manner in which they had played "with their heart and soul" that had been the secret of their success.
Yet
asked if Leicester could repeat the feat, which had been rated a
5,000-1 shot at the start of the season, in their next
campaign, Ranieri told Sky Sports: "No. I think no, but of course we want to continue to build.
"When
I came here, the project was to build a very good foundation and
slowly, slowly grow up together and in three, four years to fight for
the Europa League, then the Champions League.
"This
season is out of our project, but our foundations are very, very solid.
We know very well we have to fight for 10th position," he said.
"We
want to do our best. I'm positive and I want to fight. Yes, a top 10
target, to make a very good campaign in Europe and the Cup and to make
sure the season is safe and then something more."
The
Italian reckoned that he did not want to sell any of his players, some
of whom may well be the target for bigger clubs after their stellar
season, but any new signings would have to buy into Leicester's
all-for-one spirit.
"I don't want to sell
nobody. If some players don't want to stay with us because they're not
happy with us, then I don't want unhappy people. Then we are looking to
reinforce the team but with the same mentality. Because it's my
mentality."
Ranieri said there had been no
great celebrations in his house in the Midlands, unlike those of his
players who had enjoyed a party at the home of their star striker Jamie
Vardy after watching Spurs draw 2-2 with Chelsea on TV, the result that
sealed the crown.
He had flown home from Italy,
where he had lunch with his 96-year-old mother Renata, on Monday evening
and watched the game with his wife, before calling the rest of his
family back in Rome.
After 28 years as a manager
with a distinguished reputation but who always seemed to miss out on the
biggest prizes, Ranieri smiled: "Look, in my mind, I always believed I have to win a title.
"I
want to win. I don't know where, but I want to win something. This is
my strength. Always I'm a positive man and always I believe I can
achieve something."
Nevertheless, he admitted
he had not actually believed Leicester would win until the final
whistle at Stamford Bridge on Monday night.
"It
was unbelievable because we wanted to do something special, but nobody
could think we could have achieved this. It was an amazing season for
us. I believe in my players but I was so happy last night."
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