Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri has urged referees to protect Jamie Vardy next season.

Vardy was one of the stars of Leicester's remarkable title-winning campaign last term, scoring 24 goals and only narrowly missing out on the Premier League Golden Boot.

Ranieri believes that the FWA Player of the Year will be a marked man next term, and admits that his side will need a "plan B" if Vardy is unable to match last year's heroics.

"I hope the referees are very attentive and if there is something wrong they give penalties or free kicks. But he must stay calm because of course now everybody wants to stop him. It is difficult to stop Jamie when he is in good shape or condition, but of course there are opponents and there will be tough matches," he told reporters.

"We also want to be ready with plan B if Jamie can't score. Last season Jamie didn't score for around two months but he made a lot of passes and Riyad [Mahrez] scored. It's not important for me who scores, whether it's Jamie or [Kasper] Schmeichel."

Ranieri also played down suggestions that Vardy's place in the team could be under threat from new club-record signing Ahmed Musa.

"It's not to challenge him. It's important to have another player who can play in a similar way to Jamie. Also Musa can play in a wide position, behind Jamie or alongside Jamie," he added.

"It's important to have a good choice for me so I can choose the first XI lineup and also during the match I can read the match and maybe say 'I need this kind of player or another'. My players must be ready to do what I expect."

Leicester will begin their Premier League title defence against Hull City at the KC Stadium on Saturday.