Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri knows he is five games away from making history, but says they are going to be five "horrible" matches that will require the very best from his team to get through.
The Italian manager was in tears at the end of his side's 1-0 win over Sunderland at the weekend, a result which keeps alive the chances of one of the most spectacular title triumphs, although he says he was holding back the full extent of his emotions for a later date.
"They were not real tears," he told Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport. "They were withheld tears; it was an emotional moments. To see all of the people rooting for us, entire families coming by bus, wearing their Leicester shirts and following us all the way to Sunderland. It is that which really moved me.
"It makes you realise, in cases like these, what the extraordinary strength of football is. When our sport manages to draw out such positivity, you cannot be indifferent to it. In my role in the public eye, I try to keep a clear head. I need to give clear signs to my team and I cannot let my emotions take over."
With Tottenham beating Manchester United 3-0, the race for the title rages on between two sides few had down as serious title candidates at the start of the season, but who are going to fight it out for unexpected glory.
Leicester need just three wins from their last five games to hold off the challenge of Spurs, and Ranieri is not reading much into his side's seven-point advantage.
"We've not done it yet," he said. "We're in the Champions League, or rather we're in the playoff round for the Champions, but our final five games are going to be horrible. Tottenham are not giving up so we've got to remain focused.
"I never think about how other teams perform, but about what I need to do to do my job in the best way possible. This is our mission, and if Tottenham manage to overtake us then we will have to compliment them -- this is the rule of sport."
Leicester nevertheless have the support of many neutrals, including a man who has in the past been one of the first to ridicule Ranieri -- Jose Mourinho. The Portuguese said how he hopes Ranieri wins the title, and the Italian admitted their relationship is not as bad as it has been made out to be.
"When I took over at Inter, he called me to pay his compliments," Ranieri revealed. "A good relationship was born then. I know Jose and he knows Claudio."