Burgers on the menu if Ranieri stops the rot at Fulham
Claudio Ranieri wants his Fulham players to show fighting spirit and plans to reward clean sheets with burgers, not pizza.
The 67-year-old was appointed Fulham boss on Wednesday, as owner Shahid Khan sacked Slavisa Jokanovic with the Cottagers bottom of the Premier League and beaten in all of their last seven games in all competitions.
Ranieri offered his Leicester players the incentive of free pizza if they did not concede at the start of their memorable title-winning season in 2015-16.
“Pizza is not enough now,” Ranieri said at his unveiling on Friday.
“I have to promise something more. It’s better everybody to McDonald’s. I look always forward. I’m an ambitious man. I believe I have good players.
“Now I have to choose players who show me fighting spirit. With quality, fighting spirit and unity, the players help each other.”
Ranieri insisted the success with Leicester was a one-off.
“That was a bonus. A fairytale I forget,” said Ranieri, who vowed not to look into the past.
“Don’t think about the miracle. This is a bad moment, because Fulham is at the bottom.”
He was sacked by the Foxes in February 2017, nine months after the 5,000-1 title triumph, and spent last season in Ligue 1 with Nantes.
Fulham have just five points from 12 matches and Ranieri has identified the need to shore up a porous defence.
“Play football, play well, but when you lose the ball I want to see you with an anchor, like pirates,” he added.
Ranieri has been given a “multi-year” contract and one task by Khan is “to be safe”.
His first match in charge is the November 24 clash with Southampton, which comes after the international break, with fixtures against Chelsea on December 2 and Leicester on December 5 following.
“I think only of Southampton,” he added. “In this moment it’s important: don’t think about other things. Southampton, Southampton. And then after Southampton, Chelsea.
“I have just two days to prepare for the match. It’s important the feeling we can create together.”
“It happened to me in Leicester, not only Leicester. It’s normal.”
