Claudio Ranieri urges Leicester to move on from Champions League triumph
Leicester boss Claudio Ranieri has told his history-making Foxes to forget about their Champions League heroics.
They return to the Premier League when Burnley visit the King Power Stadium on Saturday after Wednesday's 3-0 Champions League win at Club Brugge.
Leicester marked their debut in the competition with a comprehensive victory at the Jan Breydel Stadium, their first European game in 16 years, to move top of Group G.
But the Foxes have lost two of their four games in the league, including last week's 4-1 defeat at Liverpool, as their title defence gets off to a slow start and Ranieri said if they lose focus against the Clarets he would sound the alarm.
"The problem is if someone is thinking of the (Champions League) music, then I ring my bell. If they think about the music I ring my bell," he said.
"I forget what happened. Of course that is the new challenge. Forget and think about next match. I'm used to this because always, in my career, when something happens it's finished.
"I'm used to this and now my players must be quick to change every time for the challenge. Forget Brugge, forget Liverpool. One we lost, one we won - it's finished. Clear your mind because in the next match, the opponent wants to beat us.
"We played well in Brugge in our first Champions League match. It was a good victory and I think everybody was happy and now our focus is the Premier League."
The squad flew back on Wednesday night and Ranieri insisted they cannot have any excuses if they fail to perform on Saturday.
"They've recovered very well and today they made a very good session. We don't have excuses. If they beat us it's because they're better than us - don't worry," he said.
"For us, everything is new and I want to see how they respond. They told me they are okay and they have to show me this on the pitch.
"Of course, Burnley want to increase the tempo because they might think we're tired but I don't believe it."
Danny Simpson is set to return after shaking off a hamstring injury which saw him miss the game in Belgium, while record signing Islam Slimani is primed for his league debut.
Matty James has suffered an ankle injury to leave him sidelined while Nampalys Mendy is out with his own ankle trouble but Jeff Schlupp could return to the squad following a muscle strain.
Burnley manager Sean Dyche believes Leicester's foreign owners deserve their share of credit for the remarkable story that has unfolded at the King Power Stadium.
Three seasons ago the Foxes and Burnley were in a race to be crowned second-tier champions, a distinction which went to the former, and Dyche has highlighted the role of Thai owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and his son, Top, as the bastions of excellent ownership from overseas.
"I was certainly one lauding Leicester last season for the right reasons and will continue to do so," Dyche said.
"What the manager has done is terrific but what the club has done there is terrific, in my opinion. I've looked at it from the outside-in for a number of years and I think the owners have done fantastic there.
"I don't study their club but they never seem to be too much in the public eye, they seem to be building. I know some of the work they've done off the pitch, in the training ground etc, etc and they seem to have been building things for a long time.
"It seems to be quite a clear message to people of possibly how to do it. If it is money coming in from offshore, to develop a club. I think they've done it really, really well."
Claudio Ranieri's side actually sit below Dyche's men in the table on goal difference and they have already lost twice this year having been beaten on just three occasions in the league all of last term.
However, a confidence-boosting away win in the continent's premier club competition will have raised the mood in the midlands and Dyche does not expect the champions' levels to drop too much in their title defence.
"At times last year they showed a good mentality - when they were questioned or when they had the odd dip in performance but they came through it," he added.
"Maybe that's something they've learned from last season and certainly the season before when they were under real pressure and came through it right at the end.
"Maybe they've learned that magical thing - not to be too high with the highs and too low with the lows.
"Particularly if you can get that mindset into the whole team, that bodes well for a team to stay on that level throughout to get good performances and results."
Source: PAR
