Jamie Vardy insists Craig Shakespeare is the majority of Leicester players' first choice for the manager's job.
Shakespeare, who took over from Claudio Ranieri after the Italian was sacked in February, led the champions to five straight wins, as well as a Champions League last-16 victory over Sevilla.
It remains to be seen whether former assistant manager Shakespeare will take on the job into next season, but Vardy says his influence has benefited the squad having stared relegation in the face.
Vardy told Sky Sports: "I think he would be most of the lads' choice. It's not down to us, that's up to the hierarchy, but he's definitely put himself up there.
"It's been brilliant, a brilliant return for him, but we've got to keep that going until the end of the season. We've gone back to playing what we know.
"Everyone knows exactly what their role is, and what benefits the team, and it's managed to turn our fortunes around and drag us out of the relegation zone.
"Shakey been great, but he's been with us over the years. With some of the lads he's been there all the time. For him to know us, exactly how we are, he's just basically stayed himself. He's still there, we can still call him 'Shakey' even if some of the lads have started calling him 'Boss'!
"He's got everyone geed up again, and everyone raring to go for every single game. It has definitely benefited us.
"Shakey, when he was assistant, was always the one you go to if you had any issues, and he'd relay it to the boss. He's still been exactly the same, you can go to him, and he'll say it exactly how it is. Which is perfect for us at the minute."
Vardy and his Leicester team-mates came under criticism earlier this season for some below-par performances under Ranieri, who led them to the Premier League title against all odds last term.
But Vardy says going back to basics has helped Leicester improve, as well as embracing a sense of "proving doubters wrong" after their dedication was questioned.
"We've gone back to basics, which is what we make sure we're the best at. That's exactly what we did last year. We've definitely started to bring that back again, as you've seen in the last couple of months, to pull us away."
"A lot of unfair things got said, and I think it got a lot of us a bit angry, definitely with a point to prove, and I think we've done that.
"It's each to their own, but you can see with the reporters, how they were in that first game against Liverpool, they were there backing the lads, backing Shakey, and that just shows that the true supporters are behind us.
"But they're all entitled to their own opinions, we've just got to try and put performances in on the pitch."