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Leicester City lift Premier League trophy to celebrate magical title win

Jamie Vardy's season and his role in Leicester City's Premier League title has been so magnificent he says he could easily have been playing under a spell.

Leicester hammered Everton 3-1 on Saturday in their first game at home since securing the title on Monday, and the Foxes' party was in full swing at the King Power Stadium well before the trophy was presented after the game.

Fireworks erupted on the pitch before yellow and blue streamers cascaded from the roof after the preseason 5,000-1 title shots got their hands on the biggest prize in English football.

Vardy, a former non-league striker, has had the ultimate journey, sweeping all before him with 26 goals for club and country this season. He has become the front man for Leicester's unlikely title tilt and will this summer head to Euro 2016 with England.

"I think someone put a spell on me to make it happen this season, everyone works as hard as well as themselves and if someone is having an off game then we know we have someone behind us to pick us up and keep us going," he said on Sky Sports.

"It's been a very, very long and hard process to get where I am today. But I wouldn't have been able to do it without friends, and the team behind me as well so I'll go congratulate the boys now and get ready for the celebrations.

"It would have been a lot better if I didn't put the ball onto the helicopter [for a missed penalty] but it's an unbelievable feeling for everyone involved. I can't describe it with words.

"But if it weren't for the lads here then I wouldn't have scored the goals I did. You don't get nowhere by not having the foundations. We're literally like brothers as soon as training is finished we're always in touch.

"After the [Tottenham] result, the police had shut down the street outside my house. There were thousands of fans but it's been an unbelievable week so to top it off with this victory is great."

Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri was quick to pay tribute to the people who made the dream a reality.

"It is fantastic the people have been unbelievable thank you to them, they push behind us all season," he said. "I was very, very, concentrated on being calm and of course I am very very happy. I think it was an amazing moment for me; I am not youngest.

"To lift the trophy is something special, you are champion of the Premier League, that is something special for me, of course, because I won some cups in Spain and Italy, but to be champion here is fantastic.

"In my career I always thought sooner or later I will win a title, but at the beginning I never thought here would be the place, but why not? This is a crazy season; big teams aren't consistent in season.

"I believe at the top it is important to have a very good owner and I met fantastic people. When I first came, I thought this is a very good dressing room, all friends and I tried to build the Italian mentality, solid and strong. At beginning, it wasn't working so well, but then after was fantastic

"At the beginning, it was very important to stay in Premier League for a few seasons and then move up but now we are champions.

"We know very well this is a strange year and have to put it aside and be focused on next season: the foundations are strong."

Leicester will face a bigger challenge in the Champions League next year, but for now captain Wes Morgan said he was emotionally drained.

"To finally get my hands on the trophy, walking onto the podium, I had to hold back tears," he said. "I held back the tears, finally got my hands on it, and lifted it up. Best feeling in the world.

"Everyone's been going on about how I'm going to lift it, is it heavy, putting pressure on me to be fair but there's no better feeling. Champions of England. Something you remember for the rest of your life.

"Hopefully we can crack on from here, big season next year but right now I just want to soak up the moment."

The Leicester skipper also admitted that the squad always believed they could win the title.

"I think it's the people around us who weren't really convinced we could do it but we know we could it," he said. "We played all the teams and we knew that on our day we could be better than all of them so we just continued to concentrate and ignore all the things around us and do our job.

"The togetherness of the team, we're such a tight bunch of guys, we do everything together and there's no egos in our team. We work so hard so we deserve it.

"Champions League? I don't know what it feels like but I'm going to enjoy every minute of it."

Leicester winger Riyad Mahrez, who won the PFA Player of the Year Award, added: "It is something amazing what we have done. We are enjoying with out families and it is fantastic.

"The fans are unbelievable, everything is for them and the families. It is a dream and today is very special. It is amazing. It's unbelievable. To be champions with our team I'm very happy and proud."

Information from Press Association was used in this report.