Leicester City

Tony Cottee: 'Claudio Ranieri deserved more time at Leicester City'

By Barney Corkhill, Editor | 23 February 2017

Former Leicester City striker Tony Cottee claims that sacked manager Claudio Ranieri deserved more time to turn the club's form around.

Former Leicester City striker Tony Cottee has claimed that Claudio Ranieri deserved more time to turn things around at the club.

The 65-year-old was sacked by the Foxes earlier this evening just nine months after leading the club to their first ever top-flight title, overcoming 5,000-1 odds in one of the most remarkable football achievements of all time.

Leicester remain in the Champions League but sit just one point clear of the Premier League relegation zone having failed to win or even score in the top flight so far in 2017.

However, Cottee believes that Leicester are having a "normal" campaign this time around and would have liked to have seen Ranieri given the chance to secure survival.

"This is like a normal Leicester season – they are normally in the bottom half of the table and they are normally flirting with relegation," he told Sky Sports News.

"Last season was an incredible one-off season and personally I think Claudio Ranieri should have been given a bit more time. They've got some important games over the next few weeks and I know they are flirting with relegation but I don't expect them to actually go down.

"I don't think it'll go down too well with the supporters. He gave them a season that will never be matched. It'll just never happen again. I think he should've been given a bit more time and a bit more respect. Then, if they do go down, you say thank you very much and you move in."

Craig Shakespeare and Mike Stowell will be in interim charge of the team while they search for a new manager.