Jamie Vardy claims Leicester's players have been subjected to "unfair stick" since Claudio Ranieri's sacking.

The England striker scored twice in Leicester's 3-1 victory over Liverpool at the King Power Stadium on Monday night - the first game of the post-Ranieri era.

Ranieri was sacked on Thursday, just nine months after guiding the Foxes to an improbable Premier League title, with the club now embroiled in a relegation scrap.

Senior Leicester players, including Vardy, have rallied against suggestions they plotted the Italian's downfall since his departure.

And the 30-year-old, who ended a personal Premier League drought which stretched back to December, believes the win could be a catalyst for the struggling Foxes.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Vardy said: "We've come under a lot of unfair stick with the stuff that's been in the press lately and the lads wanted to put a reaction in.

Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Show all 22 1 /22 Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Kasper Schmeichel 7/10 Made a series of good low saves. Could have done little to stop Liverpool's solitary goal. Getty Images Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Danny Simpson 7/10 Was unable to get forward as much as he would have liked but made an excellent first-half interception to prevent Coutinho from scoring. Getty Images Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Wes Morgan 7/10 Put in a performance that harked back to the Morgan of old. Did the simple stuff well and denied Firmino with a fine last-ditch tackle. Getty Images Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Robert Huth 6/10 Looked shaky when Mane isolated him in the penalty area early in the second-half. A threat going forward. Getty Images Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Christian Fuchs 6/10 Assisted Vardy's second goal with a sumptuous in-swinging cross. Had a couple of respectable shots from distance. AFP/Getty Images Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Marc Albrighton 8/10 Very impressive. His pass for the opening goal was a thing of beauty. Impish display out wide. CameraSport via Getty Images Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Danny Drinkwater 7/10 Grabbed his fair share of the headlines with a thunderous right-foot drive past Mignolet. Was occasionally guilty of dawdling on the ball, though. Getty Images Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Wilfred Ndidi 9/10 A contender for man of the match. Made 11 successful tackles: more than even N'Golo Kante ever managed in his time at the club. Liverpool FC via Getty Images Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Riyad Mahrez 7/10 Showed flashes of talent dribbling forward but, running at Milner and Lucas, he should have made more of an impact. Getty Images Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Shinji Okazaki 7/10 Played instead of Ahmed Musa; a tactical decision Craig Shakespeare got spot on. A typically combative performance, constantly freeing up space for Vardy to run into. Getty Images Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Jamie Vardy 9/10 The quintessential Jamie Vardy performance. Showed confidence in front of goal and terrorised Lucas with his direct running. Superb: man of the match. Getty Images Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Simon Mignolet 6/10 Cannot be blamed for any of the goals. Made two good first-half saves. Ran decisively off his line to twice deny Vardy late on. Getty Images Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Nathaniel Clyne 5/10 Should have done better for the third goal, which came down the right-hand side. Inexplicably performed a rabona while Liverpool were 3-1 down, which didn't go down all too well. Getty Images Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Joel Matip 5/10 A poor performance, but had it all to do in a defence lacking confidence and featuring players deployed out of position. Getty Images Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Lucas 3/10 Dreadful. Frequently exposed by Vardy. Struggled for the forward's pace and struggled in the air. Out of position and short of quality. Getty Images Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings James Milner 4/10 Frequently caught out of position and struggled against the running of Mahrez and Vardy. Improved when shifted into midfield late on. Getty Images Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Emre Can 5/10 Liverpool badly missed Jordan Henderson. Can tried, but was often overran in midfield. Redeemed himself a little with a fine surge forward for Liverpool's consolation. Getty Images Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Georginio Wijnaldum 5/10 A poor performance from a player who has looked in form in recent weeks. Guilty of giving the ball away for Leicester's first goal. Offered nothing going forward. Getty Images Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Adam Lallana 5/10 Largely anonymous although did attempt to link up with Mane more in the second-half. That ultimately proved too little too late; hauled off by Klopp on the hour. Getty Images Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Philippe Coutinho 6/10 So far from his best. Took his goal very well but failed to capitalise on his half-chances in the first-half. Liverpool FC via Getty Images Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Sadio Mane 5/10 Chopped down by Jamie Vardy just 20 seconds into the match. Restricted to a role on the fringes thereafter and ultimately disappointing. Getty Images Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Roberto Firmino 5/10 Barely involved. The stats tell their own story: 0 shots on goal, 0 through balls played and just three aerials won. Getty Images

"The performance showed we wanted to do that but it's up to us to consistently do that."

Vardy scored a brace in the win against Liverpool (Getty)

Asked what had gone wrong this season, he added: "I can't put my finger on it. We've been working hard and it's not been happening but tonight it has all clicked.

"I've been very frustrated with the amount of goals I've got this season but hopefully those two goals will push me on and there will be more to follow.

"It was definitely a case of (being damned if we did and damned if we didn't) tonight. We just needed to show we've got that fighting intensity."

Danny Drinkwater, who also got his name on the scoresheet with a stunning volley, said: "It feels good.

"We need to enjoy it while it lasts and build on it from here. It was a reaction, we've come in for a bit of stick but it's a reaction we've caused as players.

"We base our game on basics; talking, moving, high pressure, high intensity, and it was about going back to basics and causing mistakes. It caused them problems and we got the three points which we massively needed.