Claudio Ranieri Praises Battery-Powered Kante and 'Fantastic Horse' Vardy

Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri has paid tribute to his high-flying players as the Foxes close in on an unprecedented Premier League title win.

Writing for The Players' Tribune, Ranieri questioned where French midfielder N'Golo Kante gets his energy from, and compared Jamie Vardy's roaming nature to that of a horse.

On Kante, the Italian wrote:

"

This player Kante, he was running so hard that I thought he must have a pack full of batteries hidden in his shorts. He never stopped running in training.

I had to tell him, 'Hey, N’Golo, slow down. Slow down. Don’t run after the ball every time, okay?'

He says to me, 'Yes, boss. Yes. Okay.'

Ten seconds later, I look over and he’s running again.

I tell him, 'One day, I’m going to see you cross the ball, and then finish the cross with a header yourself.'

"

Vardy is Leicester's top scorer with 19 league goals, something Ranieri puts down to his inhuman work rate:

"

Jamie Vardy, for example. This is not a footballer. This is a fantastic horse. He has a need to be free out there on the pitch. I say to him, 'You are free to move however you want, but you must help us when we lose the ball. That’s all I ask of you. If you start to press the opposition, all of your teammates will follow you.'

"

With a seven-point lead and just six games remaining, expect to hear Ranieri singing his players' praises for some time to come.

[h/t The Players' Tribune]