Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Ranieri wants Foxes to focus
LEICESTER boss Claudio Ranieri has urged the Foxes to forget their Champions League heroics and focus on escaping Premier League danger.
The Foxes qualified for the l ast 16 after Shinji Okazaki’s strike and Riyad Mahrez’s penalty secured a 2-1 victory over Club Brugge and top spot in Group G.
Leicester, last season’s shock Premier League winners, had never played in the Champions League before but are unbeaten after five games and five points clear at the top.
It is in contrast to their domestic form with Ranieri’s side two points above the relegation zone after a 2-1 defeat at Watford, a sixth defeat of the season.
They lost just three times en route to winning the title in May and, ahead of the weekend visit of Middlesbrough, Ranieri wants the Foxes to pull away from trouble.
“It’s very important to top the group, now our minds must go on the Premier League. I want to push my players to think about the Premier League now our job is done,” he said after last night’s victory at the King Power Stadium.
“Now we have to go back in to the Premier League as we are very close to the relegation zone and we must play at the same level as the Champions League.”
Leicester go to Porto next month but Ranieri insists he does not mind who they will face because his team have created history again.
“It’s not important, believe me. I hope to be there in good condition.The name is not important. It will be another fairytale, win or lose,” he said.