Leicester City vs Manchester United: Claudio Ranieri still smiling ahead of Foxes' date with destiny

The mood at the King Power Stadium has turned on its head in the space of a year and it is mainly down to the Italian

Leicester City's season in numbers

Some things sum up Leicester City’s remarkable year better than others, but as Claudio Ranieri walked into the press room at the King Power Stadium on Friday lunchtime and embarked on shaking the hand of every journalist in attendance at his weekly media briefing, he was doing so exactly 12 months to the day since his predecessor attempted to humiliate one inquisitor by describing him as an ‘ostrich.’

Same room, different manager and, well, pretty much different everything else.

While Nigel Pearson’s outburst, following a 3-1 home defeat against Chelsea, betrayed the emotions of a manager struggling to bear the pressure of a relegation battle, Ranieri has carried the weight of Leicester’s title bid like feather on his back.

For the record, the Italian abandoned his handshake attempt halfway through due to the numbers involved. It was only seven or eight journalists at the start of the season, but with Leicester on the brink of winning the title – they will be champions if they defeat Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday – it was standing room only for this press conference and there are only so many hands a man can shake in half an hour.

But nonetheless, Ranieri smiled through his 37-minute interrogation, joking about how he halts training with his ‘dilly-ding, dilly-dong,’ sound when he feels as though his players lack concentration.

That has not been the case recently, however. Having suffered just three league defeats all season and been top for the majority of 2016, it has been plain sailing for Ranieri and his players.

There have been no mind games, no jitters, no sense of the fairytale being ended by some all-powerful force from the big city to the south, just Ranieri and his players floating all the way to the title.

When asked to recall his favourite fairytale as a child, the 64-year-old did not miss a trick.

Ranieri has won the hearts of Leicester's supporters (Getty)

“Robin Hood,” he replied, citing the outlaw who disenfranchised the rich to give to the poor. “And one day, I will go to Nottingham!”

Ranieri broke into a knowing laugh when he was told, ‘you won’t be going there next season,’ showing a full understanding of East Midlands rivalry, but the former Chelsea manager will also know that his team are now one win away from emulating the feats of Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest, not only by becoming the first first-time title winner since that side, but also in sparking the debate as to which achievement is the greatest.

For now, however, it is all about Old Trafford and not the debate which will follow.

“Of course, when you play at Old Trafford, it's amazing,” Ranieri said. “The stadium, the fans, the history of football there is great and I hope to give one of our best performances. It's about the performance, not the result.

“It is important for us to make a perfect game. That is important for us. The best performance away of the season, we have to do.”

Leicester need just three points from their remaining three games to win the title (Getty)

Winning the title at Old Trafford, where Ranieri arrived in English football with his first game as Chelsea manager in September 2000, would have no special resonance according to the Leicester manager.

All that matters now is winning, and if it happens to be at the stadium that has held more title parties than any other, then that would just be an additional extra.

“Now, the motivating is done,” Ranieri said. “What more motivation can there be than to win the title? It's there, very close to us.

“Once in the life this can happen, in football it could happen once every 50 years that a little team with less money can be the biggest, only once.

“But they are very special circumstances this year. The big teams don't have the consistency and normal-sized teams have the consistency during all the season, from August to April.

“Now it is important to maintain the same consistency in May.”

That Leicester are in the position of being able to win the title on Sunday is down to Tottenham’s failure to defeat West Bromwich Albion at White Hart Lane last Monday.

Craig Dawson’s equaliser, having scored an own goal to gift Spurs a first-half lead, has put Leicester on the cusp of glory, but Ranieri insists he did not even watch events unfold on television.

“I was eating,” he said. “I wasn't watching. I was at home, with my friends. I was told they were drawing, I said 'ok, it's not finished yet.’”

It can be finished on Sunday, however, which is why the city of Leicester is now dressing itself for a party.

Bars, restaurants and schools have all decorated themselves in blue and white, with Leicester Station decked in Leicester City bunting and images of Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez and Shinji Okazaki.

There is a distinct sense of this being Leicester’s moment, a unique force of goodwill and hope which only a one-club city can truly generate, and it is helping the team ride the wave to success.

Leicester City 'Champions' scarves have been on sale for some weeks now (Getty)

It may feel a touch premature to Ranieri – ‘In Italy, we are very superstitious, so never (celebrate) before’ – but there is no element of doubt of anxiety.

But that is driven by the man at the helm and it is Ranieri setting the mood.

He wants to stay ‘as long as the chairman wants me,’ and when asked whether he would allow Barcelona to sign goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, Ranieri dealt with that question with the same panache and humour as he has dealt with everything this season.

“It is fantastic,” Ranieri said. “How much money? Maybe we can change Messi with Kasper!”

The fact that Ranieri and Leicester may be facing Barcelona and Messi on an equal footing next season, as champions of their respective leagues, says everything about the feat the club’s players are about to achieve.

If that ostrich was to pull its head out of the sand, it would not believe how the landscape has changed in the space of 365 days.