The face of Leicester City, Jamie Vardy, has savaged his side’s relegation in no uncertain terms.
The talismanic striker, who led the side to the 2016 Premier League title, took to social media after their Championship return was confirmed.
“At this point I don’t even know what to say,” he began on Instagram.
“No words I have can ever express my feelings of anger and sadness with the way this season has gone. There are no excuses.
“Collectively, as players and as a club, we failed. There is simply no hiding, and I refuse to entertain any suggestion of doing so.
“Having been at this club for so long, we’ve experienced so many highs and successes – and this season has been nothing but miserable and for me personally, a total embarrassment.
“It hurts, and I know you’re feeling it too.”
He finished: “To the fans: I’m sorry. Sorry we haven’t performed and sorry we end the 2025 season with such a s**t show.”
Leicester’s relegation straight back to the Championship was confirmed on Sunday with a 1-0 home defeat to league leaders Liverpool.
Vardy has been the Foxes top scorer in the league with seven goals, and has another three assists too.
However, neither he nor any of his teammates have scored in nine consecutive home games, a shocking new record for the top flight.
In fact, they’ve won just once in their last 18, with Ruud van Nistelrooy failing to achieve his remit of survival after his mid-season hire.
Leicester began the season under Steve Cooper but cut ties to hire Van Nistelrooy after an impressive but incredibly short stint as Manchester United’s interim manager.
The Dutchman, who has lost 16 of his 20 Premier League games in charge, has been non-committal about his future and says he needs to sit down with the top brass.
Asked when that will happen, Van Nistelrooy said: “I hope soon. It is important, I can only wait.
“I am focused on and taking my responsibility to do the best things for this football club, taking it into the future, next season.
“We have to take responsibility for the next five weeks then after that we have to see.
“I will keep doing that for the remainder of the season. In a situation like this we have to sit with the club and discuss matters.”
Yet it’s clear all is not well at the King Power, with defender Conor Coady striking a similar tone straight after the relegation.
“Listen, we’ve not been good enough all year. We haven’t. If we look at today, I thought we played and we nullified Liverpool quite well, they’re a world-class side,” he said in the aftermath of the defeat.
“But if we look back at the season, it hasn’t been anywhere near good enough from a club point of view. But we have to look at ourselves in the mirror. We have to now.
“What’s happened has happened and we have to try to put the club in a better position come the summer. That’s what we have to try and do.
“We took a bit of stick, we will take on keeping stick because it’s deservedly so. From minute one this season, we haven’t been able to fully compete in the Premier League. You need to be or it will eat you up and spit you out.
“It’s something we have to look at, because we’re devastated.”
Vardy, on his part, joined Leicester in 2012 after a remarkable late climb up the divisions from non-league.
There he painted himself into footballing folklore by firing the Foxes to the 2016 Premier League title, which is widely considered one of the greatest-ever achievements in team sport.
Two of his co-stars, N’Golo Kante and Riyad Mahrez, soon left, but Vardy is still going in his 13th season with the club at the age of 38.
