INTERIM Saints boss Simon Rusk insisted he is focused on the threat of Jamie Vardy rather than the forward's Leicester farewell tour this weekend.
Vardy will depart Leicester at the end of the season following their relegation from the Premier League and has been dubbed the club's “greatest-ever player”.
The visit of Saints is his penultimate home fixture at the King Power Stadium – and his first since he said he was leaving Leicester.
However, Saints boss Rusk will not put any extra emphasis on Vardy than he usually would while preparing for the game.
“It’s more about his qualities rather than the story behind a celebration of his farewell tour,” he said ahead of Saturday's game.
“It’s about making sure we’re dealing with what his strengths are and what Leicester’s strengths are and trying to find cracks within them, and Jamie will be part of that.”
Rock-bottom Southampton have collected just 11 points this season and still need one more from their last four matches to avoid matching the worst ever Premier League total.
They take on a Leicester side who have lost all of their last nine top-flight fixtures at home and have not scored on their own patch since December 8.
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“Just like us, they’ll be drumming home that there is pride at stake here,” Rusk added. “There’s no easy Premier League game out there, every game presents a different challenge.
“Although they might have had some difficult home form, they’ve also picked up some half-decent results away from home.
"We’ll have to be at our best to get something out of the game. We have to respect the fact that they are ahead of us in the table.
"If we want to get something out of the game, we’re not going to be able to take our eye off the ball based on someone else’s form."
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