Ranieri breaks silence: I was stabbed in the back

Italian does not blame players for shock axe Injured Morgan rallies side for Atletico task

lavish contracts dished out to some members of the squad last summer as a reason behind the drop in standards, he waved away suggestions that the players were behind his dismissal.

Speaking before Leicester’s Champions League quarter-final, first leg away to Atlético Madrid tomorrow night, Ranieri said: “No, I can’t believe it. I cannot believe that my players killed me. No, no, no. The players maybe don’t give their maximum because there are other problems.

“Other problems could be that when they were here before they earned a little less, and after that they earned double or triple. Maybe when you were safe in the last match and restart the season, you the second half everyone was together again, fighting, Jamie [Vardy] scoring.

“We made very good matches before that but not with the same consistency of the year before, that was the problem. To go to Sevilla, who won the Europa League three times in a row, it’s not easy to go there and [only] lose 2-1, so when I was sacked it was a shock.

“I knew that the second year was totally different, because when you have won the title, the players have to understand what happened, must reset their mind, because it’s not easy. We are not a team that are used to staying at the top and fighting for the title.

“We were a little team with some players used to playing in the Premier League and there was an explosion. You won the title, amazing. Then we had to stay calm. I believed that sooner or later we would switch on.”

In a sign of the spirit that has been reforged in recent months, Wes Morgan is flying out to Madrid in an effort to help Leicester’s Champions League push, despite being ruled out through injury.

Shakespeare revealed yesterday that the Leicester captain would be in the dressing room before the game against Atlético. Morgan has a back injury and is also a doubt for the return. “Wes will be encouraged not only to be in and around the dressing room before the game but hopefully on the training pitch, too,” he said. “He leads by example and I think he enjoys the involvement. I expect whoever is not playing to be encouraging, and if they’ve seen something at half-time they are encouraged to speak up.”

Wilfred Ndidi, the £15 million January signing from Genk, missed the Everton game with a groin problem but is expected to be fit for Atlético.