QUITE rightly, Leicester have received all the plaudits for their magnificent achievement of winning the Premier League.

It came against all odds and was the culmination of one of the most compelling and unexpected title races in the history of the competition.

But was it really the fairytale it has been made out to be compared with events at Vitality Stadium this season?

While Leicester – who have spent just one year outside the top two divisions – landing the silverware was a triumph for David over Goliath, Cherries preserving their top-flight status was the real Cinderella story.

Outside of Dorset, few gave Cherries a prayer of staying up after they had won the Championship just six years after almost slipping out of the Football League.

Never before had the club been anywhere near the top flight, while Leicester had savoured no fewer than 12 promotions to the top division, including seven as champions of the second tier.

The bookies are rarely wrong and Cherries were as short as 11-10 to make an immediate return.

On the back of an eight-match winless run and with the spine of their team ripped out, the odds had shortened by early November as Cherries slipped into the relegation zone.

Who knows what Cherries could have achieved had Callum Wilson, Max Gradel, Tommy Elphick and Harry Arter not missed large chunks of the campaign?

Who knows how Leicester would have fared without Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez, Wes Morgan and Danny Drinkwater.