Wednesday 16 March 2016 11:15, UK
A year ago, Leicester City were languishing seven points adrift at the bottom of the Premier League table and seemed destined for an immediate return to the Championship.
Now they sit proudly at the top of the table knowing a similar run to the end of last season - when they won seven of their last nine games - would see them crowned champions of the top tier for the first time in their 132-year history.
While Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez and N'Golo Kante have been some of the star players on the pitch, who has made the club tick behind the scenes?
We visited the King Power Stadium before Leicester's Monday Night Football victory over Newcastle to find out...
The groundsman
It's not just the players on the pitch who have been earning rave reviews this season; the turf itself has also won praise.
John Ledwidge is the head groundsman at the stadium and the man behind the creative pitch designs that could play host to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in the Champions League next season.
"We seem to have made a rod for our own back," he said. "We're putting patterns out when the pitch is looking at it's best but tonight we've gone back to basics.
"It's a referee's worst nightmare, they like blocks so they can see offsides. I've had a couple of them moan at me last week about the patterns we've been putting on!"
Ledwidge's intricate designs might not be appreciated by the officials but they have been the talk of social media this year, with Lord Alan Sugar saying the pattern of the pitch was the early highlight in the win over Chelsea in December.
The team also beat off stiff competition from Manchester United to win the Football Grounds Team of the Year Award back in November.
Ledwidge believes the Foxes' performances on the pitch this season are echoed throughout every aspect of the club.
"We've been striving for the best for a long time, it's synonymous with the football club," he added. "Everyone here works exceptionally hard. It was a matter of time before it all came together.
"It is from top to bottom. It's all those little percentages that go on behind the scenes and the boys on the pitch putting the shift in that's making it successful this year. We're just happy it's falling into place."
The Foxes lead Tottenham at the top of the Premier League by five points with just eight games to play as they chase Premier League glory.
"It's frightening," said Ledwidge. "Last year even though we were in a position we were in, the team were playing exceptionally well and everyone in the club was doing what we have been doing and this year it has all come together.
"It's a great journey and a great story and it makes you proud to be a part of Leicester City Football Club."
The kit man
Kit man Paul McAndrew has been with the club almost 20 years and joined when the Foxes experienced four successive top-half finishes in the Premiership under Martin O'Neill.
Leicester also won two League Cups during O'Neill's successful stint as manager at Filbert Street and Macca, as he's known, is hoping this current crop of players can surpass those achievements.
"I've seen some ups and downs but it's great at the minute," McAndrew said. "In my first four or five years it was Wembley and European competitions, it was great. Now it's coming back again.
"I don't think there's anyone more surprised than us. It's been absolutely great from the very first minute and long may it continue."
The club shop has now almost entirely sold out of home shirts and Paul Spencer, General Manager, PUMA UKIB said, "The demand has been incredible due to the teams on pitch performance. We are practically sold out across all three kits.
"The demand Is not only locally here in the UK but across the world as everybody tunes in to this fantastic story. Leicester are fast becoming everybody's second team.
"The new shirt will move on again in terms of design and performance, of course being respectful to the clubs heritage and tradition. Our combined role with Genesis as technical kit sponsor is to provide product that supports the players in delivering the highest performance on the pitch."
The support staff
Supporter Liaison Officer Jim Donnelly has been at the club more than 15 years and became a social media sensation after his celebration in the 3-2 win against Aston Villa earlier this season.
"Unfortunately I did go viral," he said. "I was standing there when Jamie (Vardy) made it 2-2. I was so excited because we were 2-0 down - I do tend to get a bit excited when I support Leicester - and I just went mental."
The atmosphere at the King Power has been hugely influential in the last 12 months and now ranks among one of the best in the country and Donnelly believes the supporters have played their part.
"At the Norwich game when Leo (Ulloa) scored in the last minute we hit the Richter Scale at 0.3 and it was measured by Leicester University just up the road so it was fantastic.
"It's absolutely incredible, I'm a Leicester fan through and through and I can't put it into words. It's just unbelievable what we're seeing.
"The supporters have been incredible, Leicester fans inside the stadium have been so loud. They've been noisy, they've got the boys going. They've been fantastic."
The manager
Despite keeping Leicester in the Premier League last season, Nigel Pearson was sacked in the summer and replaced by former Chelsea boss Claudio Ranieri.
'The Tinkerman', as he was affectionately known during his time at Stamford Bridge, was quickly instilled as the bookmakers' favourite to be the first manager sacked following his international struggles with Greece, but the 64-year-old has proved the doubters wrong.
"Lots of people doubted, but they are having to eat their words a little bit now the season has gone on," says former Leicester player Alan Birchenall MBE.
Birchenall joined the Foxes from Crystal Palace in 1971 and has since become a club ambassador.
"At the end of the day we're there on merit, we've played some fantastic football this season," he added. "We play to our strengths and this season so far has been fantastic and we are where we are at the moment justifiably."
On a night of few chances at the King Power Stadium, Shinji Okazaki's stunning bicycle kick gave Leicester another precious three points in Rafa Benitez's first game as Newcastle United manager.
Leicester travel to Crystal Palace on Saturday knowing a win will take them eight points clear of Tottenham, who don't play Bournemouth until Sunday.
"I'm very concentrated on the next match against Crystal Palace, it's a very tough match," said Ranieri after the Newcastle game. "Our concentration is important. Step by step, that is our philosophy."
It's one which has served Leicester well so far. Only eight steps stand in the way of English football's greatest fairytale.
