Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
RANIERI Axing me was cruel
CLAUDIO RANIERI claims Leicester were ”cruel” to sack him after winning the title. The popular Italian got the axe from the club’s Thai owners in February – two weeks after they publicly pledged their “unwavering support”. Ranieri, 65, admits he thought he was bulletproof after guiding the Foxes to the title last season in the face of 5,000-1 odds. The champions were struggling domestically in the Premier League when he was sacked before rallying under successor Craig Shakespeare. But Ranieri felt they had turned the corner in a 2-1 Champions League defeat against Sevilla, when misfiring Jamie Vardy pulled back a late goal. Ranieri told Sky’s Goals on Sunday: “It is cruel. Never I thought I could be sacked. I was completely surprised. But the chairman had to do something to make the players react. “Two weeks earlier he said ‘don’t worry, keep going, it is important to be safe at the end of the season’. “I thought in Sevilla that that was the turning point. Jamie Vardy came back and scored and all the team was together.” Ranieri admits he has not since watched any of the historic footage of the shock title triumph on DVDS at his house. He got the chop after the players complained about changes to training, tactics – and even the menu. Former keeper Mark Schwarzer, who was at Leicester last season, said on Radio 5Live: “This year the biggest difference was he changed so much. “Do that when you have players set in their ways and it can go against you.”