Foxes timed it right – now for top 10

YOU'VE GOT TO HAND IT TO LEICESTER: their title win not only beat the odds against Elvis being alive, they're celebrating as if they found him. The Foxes have outrun the Hound Dog.
No one would deny their right to revel in their 15 minutes of fame, savour the adulation of their home fans tomorrow and the guard of honour from deposed champions Chelsea at Stamford Bridge next weekend. For it won't get better than this.
Football success is often about timing and Leicester's has been worthy of Rolex. They might have preferred to win it on the field instead of relying on Eden Hazard, but for a euphoric moment how could they beat Vardy's party? Or, for a common touch, Ranieri's lunch with his 96-year-old mamma?
More of the latter may be necessary once the season is over. Feet will have to be reacquainted with terra firma and a sober assessment of their achievement made. A repeat is more likely than lightning hitting the same place twice but not by much.
This is not to say they'll be rubbish next season – far from it as they are a genuinely good side. Winning both the Players' and the Football Writers' awards for Player of the Year (Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy respectively) with N'Golo Kante also nominated was just recognition of their quality.
But they will surely accept that besides being almost Scot free with injuries, their annus mirabilis coincided with the so-called Big Four enduring seasons that were all, to varying degrees, horribilis. Leicester seized their opportunity and kept it together for the entire campaign.
The assumption is, of course, that next season those big beasts will get their act together and trample the upstart Foxes in the rush to restore order. But will they?
At least two – Manchester City and Chelsea – will have new managers and even though cash is certain to be thrown like confetti, there are bound to be question marks about how Pep Guardiola and Antonio Conte fare as rookies in the most competitive league in the world.
On recent evidence, Guardiola may have the bigger job after all while Conte could be forgiven for asking if he can play Spurs every week!
Ironically, where the incumbents may actually stick around – at Manchester United and Arsenal – there is even greater uncertainty. Just how can Louis van Gaal conjure up a serious title assault if he's given another year? And, if not, how would the Special One fare at a club where he has to change the habits of a lifetime?
And then there's Arsenal where Arsene Wenger, having faced down the protestors, looks to stay and perhaps even spend? However we look at it, none of these clubs strike you as being sure-fire champions next time around.
Then there's Liverpool where Jurgen Klopp will have had a pre-season and sorted out the wheat from the Brendan Rodgers chaff. Just how they fared overnight and whether they can qualify for the Champions League by winning the Europa League could have a huge bearing on their domestic campaign next season.
But what about Leicester themselves? The first thing is whether they can hang on to their players who have not only played superbly but knitted together as a team. They are from disparate backgrounds but have shared a tough road as journeymen in lower leagues – something that has helped them bond.
Some of the aforementioned could be tempted to leave but, whatever happens, there will be new faces. With at least six Champions League games to play on top of the usual programme, they will need reinforcements for that competition's altogether different demands.
Leicester have a thin squad as we have seen on the rare occasions a change in the regular XI has been required. If they recruit heavily, not all will get a game and Ranieri's man-management will have to be at its eccentric best to keep everyone happy.
And how much moolah will the Thai owners stump up anyway? The instinct will be to carry on with the current formula but that may not be possible. Every game will seem like a cup tie as teams will be out to take them down a peg and they can't expect to steer clear of injuries for a second season in a row.
They may not even be able to bow out of the domestic cups as adroitly as they did this time and, perhaps, more worryingly, their counter-attacking style may have been sussed. No team has been watched more closely in recent weeks and ways of stopping them are on the drawing board.
History offers conflicting pointers. Blackburn Rovers, the only other so-called unfashionable club to win the title in the Premier League era (1995), simply couldn't sustain it, with Kenny Dalglish going upstairs and Alan Shearer eventually sold off.
Nottingham Forest, a similar sized club with whom Leicester's success has also been compared, went on to even greater things, winning the European Cup twice, going a record 42 games unbeaten and picking up the League Cup four times. Their League title triumph in 1978 was in a different era and in charge was a genius called Brian Clough.
Contrary to Elvis's song, Leicester have caught a rabbit and are friends of everybody. They cannot hope to surpass Cloughie but should be able to last longer than Blackburn. Their manager has got it about right: when asked about next season's target, he said: "Top 10". But what no one can take away from them is that they've smashed the cartel and given fresh hope to so-called lesser lights everywhere.