Striker Ulloa ready to own up responsibility in Vardy’s absence

Leicester (England), April 23 (IANS) Leicester City striker Leonardo Ulloa says he is ready step up in the absence of star goal-poacher Jamie Vardy when they face Swansea City in their bid to extend their lead at the top of the English Premier League (EPL) table on Sunday.

Top scorer Vardy was dismissed against West Ham United last time out and will miss Sunday’s meeting with the Swans, meaning Ulloa could well be involved at the King Power Stadium.

He came off the bench to score a stoppage time penalty in the 2-2 draw with the West Ham last weekend, and whatever role he’s asked to fulfil by head coach Claudio Ranieri against the Swans, he’ll be happy to do it.

“I want to play always. I know the team is in a good moment and all the season have been in a good moment. It’s difficult to get into the XI but I want to help the team. I am ready to play 10, 20 or 90 minutes," Ulloa told Leicester's official website on Saturday.

“It’s easy to play with Shinji (Okazaki) because he has many qualities and he can adapt to play with Vardy or with me. We have different characteristics but we can play together," the 29-year-old added.

“(As a team) I think we don’t have pressure because we are in a good situation and a good moment. If we think about last year and how we are now then it’s amazing. Now I think we need to enjoy it and enjoy the situation."

But while there remains a relaxed mood and a good feeling around the camp, Ulloa insisted that the team is under no illusions about how tough their task with be against Swansea on Sunday.

The Foxes are currently five points clear of Tottenham Hotspur at the top with four games to play, but they’ll need to work hard to have any chance of extending that gap.

“I think it’s a tough game and a difficult game. Their situation isn’t so good but every game is hard. Swansea can play good football and we need to play with the same intensity and strength as the last few games," said the Argentine.

“We need the same mentality and we need to think about us and not what they can do. If we think too much about them we’ll forget about ourselves, and it’s important to think of ourselves.”