Leicester City's primary target this season is to avoid relegation, according to their coach Claudio Ranieri.
Leicester defied odds of 5000-1 by claiming a shock Premier League title last season, finishing 10 points ahead of their nearest rivals Arsenal.
Ranieri says it is even more unlikely that they will emerge on top in 2016-17 and is therefore setting safety as the No. 1 objective, although he is not ruling out delivering more success for the Foxes while keeping a low profile.
"The fundamental concept is to start from scratch," Ranieri told Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport. "We've won the title and it was beautiful and fantastic, it was maybe an unrepeatable achievement, but now we turn the page.
"If at the start of last season the bookmakers had us down as 5000-1 shots, then this time we start at 6000-1. Our objective to start the season with is to reach 40 points and stay up.
"Then, once we've reached that objective, we can raise the bar: finish in the top 10, [qualify for] the Europa League, a place in the Champions League. And maybe we can win one of the five trophies will be challenging for: Community Shield, Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup and Champions League. That is our running order, step by step."
Ranieri is aware of how difficult the season will be, though, not only with everybody keen on deposing his team from their throne. And then there is the added burden of Champions League football which his squad have got to get used to.
Oggi in #primapagina il discorso del Re: parla in esclusiva Sua Maestà Claudio Ranieri. E tutto sul calciomercato... pic.twitter.com/LF1zUH2cD0
- LaGazzettadelloSport (@Gazzetta_it) July 18, 2016
"The Champions League is a fascinating adventure, but it burns copious amounts of energy, particularly psychologically," the 64-year-old said. "Were going to have to learn to live with this extra distribution of strength and be good at lifting ourselves up again.
"We might therefore lose a few more games and that's where we will see how capable we are of reacting."
Leicester defied odds of 5000-1 by claiming a shock Premier League title last season, finishing 10 points ahead of their nearest rivals Arsenal.
Ranieri says it is even more unlikely that they will emerge on top in 2016-17 and is therefore setting safety as the No. 1 objective, although he is not ruling out delivering more success for the Foxes while keeping a low profile.
"The fundamental concept is to start from scratch," Ranieri told Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport. "We've won the title and it was beautiful and fantastic, it was maybe an unrepeatable achievement, but now we turn the page.
"If at the start of last season the bookmakers had us down as 5000-1 shots, then this time we start at 6000-1. Our objective to start the season with is to reach 40 points and stay up.
"Then, once we've reached that objective, we can raise the bar: finish in the top 10, [qualify for] the Europa League, a place in the Champions League. And maybe we can win one of the five trophies will be challenging for: Community Shield, Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup and Champions League. That is our running order, step by step."
Ranieri is aware of how difficult the season will be, though, not only with everybody keen on deposing his team from their throne. And then there is the added burden of Champions League football which his squad have got to get used to.
Oggi in #primapagina il discorso del Re: parla in esclusiva Sua Maestà Claudio Ranieri. E tutto sul calciomercato... pic.twitter.com/LF1zUH2cD0
- LaGazzettadelloSport (@Gazzetta_it) July 18, 2016
"The Champions League is a fascinating adventure, but it burns copious amounts of energy, particularly psychologically," the 64-year-old said. "Were going to have to learn to live with this extra distribution of strength and be good at lifting ourselves up again.
"We might therefore lose a few more games and that's where we will see how capable we are of reacting."
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