Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri has revealed how he motivated his side to spark an incredible Premier League title challenge this season, while insisting that he gives his players freedom to perform an in article written for The Players' Tribune.
On April 4, 2015, Nigel Pearson's team sat at the foot of the table, three points adrift of Queens Park Rangers and a further four behind Sunderland outside the relegation zone. But a run of form that saw them win seven and draw one of their remaining nine fixtures kept them up and, after appointing Ranieri in the summer, the club have not looked back.
A stunning campaign sees Leicester sit seven points clear of second-placed Tottenham with six matches to play and, as they stand on the brink of clinching the most unlikely title in history, Ranieri insists that is their desire that has got them there.
"Before we played our first match of the season, I told the players, 'I want you to play for your teammates. We are a little team, so we have to fight with all our heart, with all our soul,'" he wrote.
"'I don't care the name of the opponent. All I want is for you to fight. If they are better than us, Okay, congratulations. But they have to show us they are better.'"
A title challenge was never in the thoughts of the Italian manager at the start of the season though, as avoiding relegation and getting to the magical 40 point mark was all that Ranieri was concerned with.
"I remember my first meeting with the chairman when I arrived at Leicester City this summer. He sat down with me and said, 'Claudio, this is a very important year for the club. It is very important for us to stay in the Premier League. We have to stay safe,'" he wrote.
"My reply was, 'Okay, sure. We'll work hard on the training ground and try to achieve this.'
"Forty points. That was the goal. That was the total we needed to stay in the first division, to give our fans another season of Premier League football. Back then, I did not dream that I would open the paper on April 4 and see Leicester City at the top of the table with 69 points. Last year on this same day, the club was at the bottom of the table. Unbelievable."
It has been quite a turnaround and the players have received high praise for their performances, most notably striker Jamie Vardy who was playing for Fleetwood Town in 2012 but has scored 19 goals in 32 games this season.
"Jamie Vardy, for example. This is not a footballer. This is a fantastic horse," Ranieri added. "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.'"
N'Golo Kante, who signed from Caen in August 2015, has also been a star and Ranieri revealed that the midfielder's stamina has impressed him most.
The former Chelsea and Juventus manager 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."