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| The Tinkerman faces his former club Chelsea with Leicester top of the Premier League table |
IF CARLSBERG did Premier League tables they would have Leicester City looking down on the rest.
So where better for Claudio Ranieri's unfancied shock troopers to stage their Christmas party than in Copenhagen, home of the famous brewery?
Off they went last week dressed as superheroes, wearing the costumes of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Power Rangers and Spiderman.
Except this is no far-fetched script of make-believe - Leicester have actually hit the giddy heights of the country's biggest league under the gregarious Italian.
As Ranieri prepares to face former club Chelsea - where he was designated a dead man walking following Roman Abramovich's arrival - he was in effusive mood, floating around the media room with a smile and a firm handshake.
Leicester is his 16th managerial job and the CV is impressive, containing spells at Juventus, Roma, Inter Milan, Valencia, Fiorentina and Chelsea.
The 64-year-old and Leicester appear the perfect fit. He couldn't be happier but beware - behind the bonhomie lurks a man with an iron fist, determined to make a long-term impact at the King Power Stadium.
Leicester legend Gary Lineker dubbed The Tinkerman's summer arrival "an uninspired choice". He was in good company, with most in football scratching their heads in amazement at the replacement for Nigel Pearson, who masterminded the great escape to maintain the club's Premier League status.
But Ranieri explained: "When Leicester called me and asked me to speak with them, I was very, very happy and glad because I wanted to come back to the Premier League. When I met the owner and the sporting director, I felt something.
"Then when I went to Austria with the players (pre-season), I thought, 'This is fantastic, fantastic.' The players were united as a group. The spirit was there in how they trained. I felt it in everything. The staff was, and is, perfect for my relationship.
"I love it when the players come to the training session and enjoy themselves. Okay, if you go into your job and your colleagues stay very, very anxious, it's not a good atmosphere and you don't work well.
"I think if there is a good atmosphere, if there is positivity and there is the right electricity, you will give more to the team.
"I want to be positive. I think I am a nice man but you have to follow my direction. If you don't follow my direction it's not good for you."
Ranieri isn't getting carried away by Leicester's stunning lift-off to the season. He refuses to ride football's rollercoaster and settles for a steadier journey, helped by the words of poet and novelist Rudyard Kipling.
"I'm an experienced manager and I think I know about creating the right balance - not too high when you're at the top and not too down when you are down. The balance is the truth," he said.
"I remember a fantastic Kipling poem: 'If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster.
'And treat those two impostors just the same...' I haven't got the poem on display but maybe I will tell my players about it."
He could also tell them about his four years at Chelsea, where he left the foundations for his successor Jose Mourinho to build a title-winning side; where he introduced the talents of Frank Lampard and swiftly discovered a future captain in John Terry.
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| Ranieri managed Chelsea between 2000 and 2004 before he was replaced by Jose Mourinho |
"I didn't give him the armband because I had Marcel Desailly," Ranieri stated, though Terry was a stand-in skipper at times.
"My centre-backs at first were world champions and European Championship winners Desailly and Frank Leboeuf. I (eventually) chose John Terry. I saw him in the Under-21s and said, 'This player is fantastic.'"
There is an open invitation to be a guest of his former club whenever he chooses and Ranieri added: "Roman has told me that whenever I want to go to Chelsea to watch them, 'This is your house. When you want the door is always open.' That for me is good."
Tomorrow night will also see Ranieri reunited with Chelsea's player liaison officer Gary Staker, who helped the Italian with his English at Stamford Bridge. "Gary for me was my guardian angel. He is still there. Gary is fantastic," Ranieri said.
Chelsea's visit, albeit as fading champions, is yet another examination of Leicester's staying power in the most fascinating Premier League in years.
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| Riyad Mahrez scored a hat-trick at Swansea last weekend as Leicester went top again |
The 5-2 crushing by Arsenal in September remains Leicester's only loss this season. That game seemed to signal that the bubble had burst but Ranieri's side are still standing. He's the current manager of the month and Jamie Vardy player of the month.
Ranieri said: "After that defeat I said to them, 'Okay, clear your mind. We have lost - now we must show how we react.'
"That for me is important. You can lose but I want to see the man, how the man reacts. If you are the right man, you are also the right player.
"I am very proud that my players are playing well and that a lot of fans look upon us as their second team.
"I think it is good for football but maybe it's too early to judge. We need to stay maybe not at the top but around the top for another 10 matches."
If he succeeds, Ranieri could be donning a Superman outfit for the next superheroes outing.
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