IT’S just 69 days since Jamie Vardy found out about the downside of the impossible dream he’d chased while at clubs like Stocksbridge Park Steels, FC Halifax Town and Fleetwood Town.
Playing for England isn’t all roses.
Sometimes – far too often in recent years – it can chew you up and dump you on your backside.
Vardy played just the last 30 minutes of the defeat to Iceland at Euro 2016.
He was an impact sub who didn’t make an impact.
As he slumped to the turf in Nice at the end of one of the most humiliating nights in recent history, he felt what generations of England footballers have felt since 1966.
But Vardy is not one to dwell on failure.
He’s still new to international football and, having gone from non-League nonentity to Premier League Champion, he knows first-hand not only that things can change, but that he can help make change happen.
“Iceland was heartbreaking,” says the Leicester striker as he prepares to face Slovakia later today in the first match of another new regime.
“All the players are fans. If we weren’t playing, we’d have been watching that game.
“It was a massive learning curve for all of us because the squad was young and quite a few of us had never been to a major tournament.
“It can only help us to have had that experience. But it’s important now that we move on.
“First we have to make sure we beat Slovakia, take the result into the rest of the qualifiers and go on to reach the World Cup Finals.
“There’s a lot of talk about the weight of the England shirt, but I don’t feel it and I’m not aware that others do.
“You only think about it when you read the papers!
“But players are with England for a reason, and when you step over those lines, you just have to concentrate and make sure you’re giving your all.
“Sam has come in and he’s trying to make it as if you’re playing for your club.
“You’re not together for long and making training enjoyable is definitely the one way of lifting any weight there might be.
“The last thing you want is to make training harsh and gruelling. You want to look forward to joining up.
“I’ve had no dealings with Sam before, but when we met up last week he told me that the manager at Fleetwood tried to get him to sign me for West Ham. Obviously, it didn’t happen!”
Another move that didn’t happen was Vardy’s summer transfer to Arsenal.
When the Gunners triggered a release clause in his contract, it seemed inevitable that he’d make the step up to the more glamorous club.
Instead, he agreed a new deal with the Foxes while he was away at the Euros, and his faith in the club appears to have triggered a succession of team-mates tying their personal futures to City.
“I can understand why people would assume that Arsenal would get me. But if you don’t think it’s the right move for you, you don’t do it,” he says. “It is as simple as that.
“In France, I was in a hotel room for many hours every day and I had a lot of time on my hands.
“But every time I thought about it, when I considered every aspect of it, both my head and my heart were telling me to stay.
“In training and the games, it was all about England. It was only in my downtime that it was on my mind.
“The decision to stay was all down to me. It was an easy one to make because my heart and head were telling me the same thing.
“I actually spoke to Arsene Wenger a couple of times while it was going on. He was staying in some of the hotels we were in covering the Euros for French TV.
“It was just a simple: ‘Hello, are you OK?’ and it was never awkward. It was a nice compliment they wanted to buy me.
“Leicester have been on the rise and I think that will continue.
“You can see with some of the players we’ve brought in that they obviously want to keep it going. I wanted to be part of that.
“I think the majority of the lads would have signed anyway. That’s how we are. We are literally a group of brothers.
“The gaffer wanted to keep everyone together, and to only lose N’Golo Kante is not too bad. And obviously we’ve got in replacements.
“But the only way to keep it going is to constantly put the work in.
“There is always another pinnacle to go on top of the last one. Once you get there, you want to achieve more. That is part of the people we are.
“Last year wasn’t supposed to happen, but we managed to pull off the unthinkable.
“It’s not supposed to happen again this season, so we’re just enjoying ourselves. There’s no pressure on us.”
Vardy’s meteoric rise has brought huge changes to his lifestyle and that’s meant a few negatives have intruded into an overwhelmingly positive story.
But he admits he has the perfect sounding board when he meets up with England.
Skipper Wayne Rooney has been dealing with the price of fame all his life.
“We’ve had a few chats,” says Vardy. “Wayne was thrown in at the deep end when he was 16, so to have that experience to call on has definitely helped me.
“The biggest difference is that I can’t leave my house. I can’t go to the shops without getting harassed. I don’t get to have too many family days.
“People want photos and autographs. But if I’ve got my little girl with me, I don’t really want to be putting her down to have a photo taken.
“I try to explain it in the nicest possible way. A lot of people understand but some don’t and think we should be made available 24/7.
“You want to be giving kids as normal a life as possible, so you have to try and adapt.
“It’s one of the things about the job we’re in. It feels a bit mad because I’m still the same person I was.
“Wayne is always there, keeping all the lads together, and when he’s on the pitch he’s a massive leader.
“Him being kept on as captain is good for England.
“Football-wise it’s great to train with him. It can only benefit me as a player.
“I’m sure he thought long and hard about announcing that he’d be retiring from international football after the next World Cup.
“I’m only a year younger but I hope to play a lot longer than 2018.
“I’m hoping the legs haven’t had as much hammer as if I’d been playing since 18, and that I don’t lose too much of my pace as I get older.”
Vardy isn’t too concerned about how Allardyce uses him over the qualifying campaign – just as long as he does.
It’s a sharp, if unintended, contrast to Daniel Sturridge’s comments about his discomfort at being played wide at Liverpool.
“I’d play left-back if you want me to and try to put it in the net,” says Vardy.
“All I want to do is play. I’d always give 110%, whatever position I am in.”
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