Ranieri wants players to be lions, not lambs

FULHAM’S struggling stars flew to Amsterdam for their Christmas bash immediately after losing 4-1 to Manchester United at Old Trafford last Saturday. Manager Claudio Ranieri gave his players permission to travel to the Dutch capital despite being bottom of the Premier League. The squad wore fancy dress — much like Leicester did for their Christmas party before they pulled off their 5,000-1 title-winning miracle under Ranieri in 2015-16. Leicester’s stars flew to Copenhagen immediately after an away game. Ranieri described his struggling Fulham stars as lambs after their heavy defeat by United. Yesterday, he called on his players to turn into lions against West Ham today. ‘I hope they are lions now,’ Ranieri said. ‘It’s important to work hard. My players worked hard in Manchester. The first half, in the wrong way. The second half, in a good way. We ran a lot, but you have to run in the right way. That’s it. I trust in my players. If they wanted to have a Christmas party they can do that. They’ve worked so hard in training sessions and in matches.’ Meanwhile, West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini says West Ham now have a ‘big-team mentality’ when it comes to away games. The Hammers will put this to the test at Craven Cottage, hunting a fourth successive Premier League victory. Pellegrini said: ‘We have a lot of improvements in personality, especially when we go to play away. ‘We always go for the game from the first minute to the last minute and try to attack. So there are a lot of things that I can say. We are playing as a big team.’ The Hammers have scored three times in each of their last three games, which last happened in the league in 1982. Kick-off: 5.30pm, Craven Cottage. TV : LIVE on BT Sport 1. Referee: Mike Dean.