The Leicester City legend has been speaking about his time at the King Power Stadium and how his first season at the club was an eye-opener following his move from Fleetwood
Jamie Vardy has revealed how he contemplated a quickfire return to Fleetwood on loan after his first season in a Leicester City shirt.
Vardy was speaking to Gary Lineker for the Rest is Football podcast when he discussed the difficulties adapting to life in the Championship following his £1m move from Fleetwood.
The Leicester legend, now playing with Cremonese in Italy, hit five goals in 29 appearances in his first campaign which led him to consider a move back to the club that sold him.
But Vardy revealed how the management team of Nigel Pearson, Steve Walsh and the late Craig Shakespeare put a stop to it because they firmly believed he would go on to become one of the most formidable strikers in England.
“It was more that first season for me,” said Vardy.
“In my eyes didn’t go as I’d planned. I thought it was just going to be, right, I’ve done it, well, I’ve done this previously so it’ll just now go into this.
“But you don’t realise how big a difference the physicality is, the pace of the game, what stamina you need fitness-wise and things like that.
“I had to work hard. I remember saying to Nigel Pearson at the time, Steve Walsh, and Craig Shakespeare, God bless him, because I was struggling.
“But I knew I’d done it at Fleetwood. And I was like, look, it’s not working, I’ll go back on loan to Fleetwood because I know it works there.
“That’s how I had it thought in my head. But they said no, it’s not happening and that they had brought me here because ‘we believe in you’.
“They said we know that you can go on to bigger and better thing so it’s not happening. That summer was all about making sure I was fit as I could be when we went back.”
Speaking about Pearson’s influence, Vardy added: “He was massive.
“The main thing I always got from him is that he was a great manager, a great coach, but that he fully understood the human side, the mental side and the physical and mental strain it had on players.
“He had that down to a T, and he wasn’t stupid with it. He would say all of you are off tomorrow go spend it with your family, go spend it with your friends, you need a break.
“I don’t think a lot of managers get that nowadays.”
