by Simon Williams at The Hawthorns

LEICESTER CITY manager Claudio Ranieri said on Saturday that in-form striker Jamie Vardy is “ready to fight at a higher level.”

Vardy scored his 11th goal of the season as the Foxes came from a goal down to beat West Bromwich Albion 3-2 at The Hawthorns.

Ranieri’s side fell behind on the half-hour mark when Salomon Rondon headed the Baggies into the lead.

But Riyad Mahrez and Vardy scored during a 20-minute spell in the second half before Rickie Lambert scored a late penalty for the home side to reduce the arrears.

After the match Ranieri was quick to praise the contribution of Vardy, who scored for the eighth consecutive game, eclipsing the likes of Ian Wright, Alan Shearer and Thierry Henry in the process.

“It’s good for the rest of the team,” said the Italian. “When you’re at the back and you see your striker run and run and run and press then you feel good and you say: ‘If he presses then I must do the same.’

“He picks the whole team up.”

The next milestone for the England striker is to score in 10 consecutive games, a record currently held by Ruud van Nistelrooy.

But Vardy claimed he wasn’t even thinking about it. He said: “No, all that’s at the back of my mind is getting a goal and three points.

“We’re flying high and that’s where we want to stay, we want to keep putting performances in and picking points up. It’s as simple as that.”