Leicester City

Craig Shakespeare denies player revolt forced Claudio Ranieri out of Leicester

By Barney Corkhill, Editor | 24 February 2017

Leicester City caretaker manager Craig Shakespeare denies reports that a number of senior players were instrumental in the club's decision to sack Claudio Ranieri.

Leicester City caretaker manager Craig Shakespeare has denied reports that Claudio Ranieri lost the dressing room before being sacked by the club.

A number of senior players in the squad were alleged to have voiced their concerns to the club's hierarchy prior to Wednesday's 2-1 Champions League defeat at the hands of Sevilla.

Ranieri was subsequently sacked in the wake of that defeat, although the decision is understood to have been made before their trip to Spain.

"A lot of the talk of unrest within the dressing room has been speculation. My relationship with Claudio has been fine all along. I spoke to him last night and he thanked me for my support throughout. Claudio seemed fine. A bit shocked as we all were but he is very level headed and knows this is just football. His tone was fine," Shakespeare told reporters.

"There's a lot speculation with no foundation about my relationship with Claudio. It has been perfectly fine. I spoke to him on the phone he thanked me for the support. It was not brief and we exchanged views. A lot of what we said will stay private.

"I've not had one problem with the players. There was a lot of frustration because of the results but he had not lost the dressing room. When you lose football matches people look for things - things that aren't there. It frustrates me our integrity has been questioned. I'm not aware of any senior players going to the owners [to express their frustration at results]. Players certainly have a voice but ultimately it's the manager who has the final say."

Leicester will host Liverpool on Monday looking for their first league win and goal of 2017.