Leicester 3-0 Watford: Wilfred Ndidi, Riyad Mahrez and Marc Albrighton score to sink Walter Mazzarri's outfit

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It has been all about the numbers for the man who shares a surname with one of the greatest wordsmiths this country has ever seen.

Well, Craig Shakespeare can ditch the calculator now, breathe a huge sigh of relief and look forward to the job interview in a fortnight.

Leicester, the fallen champions, have renewed their membership of the Premier League for another season and turned the Shakespeare story into modern footballing theatre.

Marc Albrighton wrapped up proceedings on Saturday with a goal in injury time

Albrighton stroked the ball home at the death to score Leicester's third goal of the afternoon

Riyad Mahrez celebrates as Leicester picked up yet another Premier League victory

The winger tucked the ball home from a tight angle to double Leicester's lead on the weekend

The promoted assistant manager — on an interim basis — has been a picture of calm despite the drama of a survival fight.

He stood, largely unmoving, in the technical area at the King Power on Saturday as the players showed once again that they are ready and willing to run through walls for him.

Wilfred Ndidi got the ball rolling just before half-time, Riyad Mahrez conjured up his magic in the second half and Marc Albrighton rounded off a great day at the office with an injury-time strike.

‘I was really pleased with the result,’ admitted Shakespeare in his understated way. ‘I think it is one the whole club can look to —owners, supporters, players, staff — and be very pleased.’

Leicester were largely untroubled as they picked up their 12th win of the league campaign

Heurelho Gomes and his Watford team-mates have lost their third straight top-flight match

So what about the job on a full-time basis?

‘I’ve only been asked that eight times today,’ joked Shakespeare. ‘I don’t expect to speak to the owners until the end of the season. We will sit down then. I have an assistant manager’s contract and we must be professional about it.’

The mantra remains the same but there is no doubt the influence Shakespeare, formerly assistant to Claudio Ranieri and Nigel Pearson, has had on the team.

This was a fifth successive home win for Leicester, who were again cheered on by the happy clappers.

Mahrez marked his 100th Premier League game with a performance straight out of the title-winning campaign. Mesmerising, jinking — trying to stop him is like catching fog.

Wilfred Ndidi pictured striking the ball past Gomes to open the scoring for Leicester

The view from behind the goal as Ndidi smashes the ball past the Watford goalkeeper

The Foxes midfielder wheels away to celebrate after firing home from close range

This is how Marc Albrighton wrapped up proceedings. CLICK HERE to find out more from our brilliant MATCH ZONE.

Apparently he is a jellied bundle of insecurity but it did not show as he doubled the lead given by Ndidi’s close-range wallop from a clever free-kick routine.

Shakespeare revealed: ‘I’ve had conversations with Riyad and he’s very self-critical. He wants to score more goals and thinks he should. He has turned that talk into actions but I remember him tracking back too.’

There is certainly nothing wrong with Leicester’s work ethic. Marc Albrighton, on the other wing, was also in perpetual motion and his fist-pumping celebration after smashing home Jamie Vardy’s cross said it all.

‘It felt at the end of it a comfortable victory but Kasper (Schmeichel) had to pull off a few saves early doors,’ was Shakespeare’s honest appraisal.

Leicester and Watford had been locked together on 40 points but the journey could not have been more different. City have clawed their way up the table in a bitter relegation battle while Watford have kept a bit of distance between themselves and the strugglers.

Kasper Schmeichel celebrates following Ndidi's strike near the end of the opening period

Craig Shakespeare has led his Foxes side to back-to-back victories following defeat by Arsenal

Nordin Amrabat challenges for the ball with Leicester left-back Christian Fuchs 

Gomes dives to his left to save from Leicester and England striker Jamie Vardy

Yet, such is the pressure of managing in the Premier League that Watford manager Walter Mazzarri finds his position under threat.

His team’s results away from home are horrible — five successive defeats without scoring. He remained convinced, however, that Watford had been hard done by at the King Power Stadium.

He said: ‘The result is not nice but it doesn’t reflect how the game went. We committed two individual mistakes and the third was a counter-attack.

‘In the game we were at the same level as Leicester. Their goalkeeper was great as well. We should have scored. At the end of the day the game is decided in episodes.’

Certainly Schmeichel did well, especially against Tom Cleverley and Stefano Okaka, but Leicester could have scored many more goals too.

Two of them might even have been own goals, with both Christian Kabasele and Adrian Mariappa close to scoring for the wrong team.

But this was all about Leicester, their pitch mowed in traditional artistic fashion and the supporters bellowing as they bellowed their way to the title a year ago.

The trophy went back this week, a silver reminder of a fairytale.

Shakespeare has made sure that the stage is there for more glory next summer and, most importantly, the players have also proved they are no flash in the pan.      

Walter Mazzarri and his Watford outfit had an afternoon to forget on Saturday

Mahrez is charged down by Janmaat as the Algerian tries to put the ball in the box

Mahrez has become the first Algerian to make 100 Premier League appearances