Vardy grateful to Van Nistelrooy after equalling Premier League record

Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy expressed gratitude to Ruud van Nistelrooy after equalling the Dutchman’s record of scoring in 10 successive Premier League games on Saturday.

Vardy grabbed the opener with a crisp finish as Leicester cruised to a 3-0 win at Newcastle United – a result which took Claudio Ranieri’s men to the top of the table, although they can be overtaken by Manchester City if they beat Liverpool in the late kick-off.

Van Nistelrooy took to social media on Friday to wish Vardy well – a gesture that meant a lot to the former Fleetwood Town man.

“I kept getting it [the message] sent to me and fair play to him for doing it. He didn’t have to do that,” Vardy told Sky Sports News.

Vardy can now better the mark of Van Nistelrooy – who set the record in 2003 during his time at Manchester United – if he scores for Leicester at Old Trafford next weekend.

“We’ll have to wait and see. We need to get back on the training field, work on some plans and then put them into action,” added Vardy, who was happier talking about Leicester’s impressive win against a dismal Newcastle side.

“I may have equalled the record but we got the three points and the clean sheet.

“We just take every game as it comes. We can get goals and we’ve been solid at the back. We have a never say die attitude, we’ll fight for each other right to the very end.”

Asked if he was pinching himself at the way his career had progressed – he was playing non-league football three years ago – Vardy replied “every day”.