Ranieri Takes Over At Fulham As Jokanovic Gets The Sack

Former Leicester City Manager Claudio Ranieri Has Been Appointed The New Boss Of Fulham, Replacing Slavisa Jokanovic, The Struggling English Premier League Club Announced Yesterday.

Jokanovic Led Fulham Into The Epl Via The Play-offs Last Season, But The London Club Are Bottom Of The League With One Win In 12 Games.

Ranieri Told The Club Website: "It Is An Honour To Accept Mr (Shahid) Khan's Invitation And Opportunity To Lead Fulham, A Fantastic Club With Tradition And History. The Objective At Fulham Should Never Be To Merely Survive In The Epl. We Must At All Times Be Difficult Opponents And Should Expect To Succeed."

Fulham Chairman Shahid Khan Said He Had Taken The Decision Reluctantly, But Felt A Change Was Needed, Reported Reuters.

"I Wasn't Anticipating Having To Make This Announcement Related To Slavisa And Wish The Circumstances Were Such That I Didn't Have To," He Said In A Statement.

"But Our Path This Season Has Led Me To Make What I Know Is The Correct Decision, At The Right Time, For Our Players, The Club And Our Supporters."

Ranieri, 67, Won The Epl Title With Unfancied Leicester In 2016 And Most Recently Coached French Side Nantes.

He Has Also Worked With Clubs Such As Atletico Madrid, Juventus, As Roma And Inter Milan And Also Had A Four-year Spell With Fulham's Neighbours Chelsea.

Khan Said Having Someone Of Ranieri's Calibre Ready To Accept The Challenge Was Comforting.

Describing Ranieri As "Risk Free", Khan Said: "His Recent Body Of Work With Leicester City Is Literally Legendary And Then You Look At Claudio's Experience With Chelsea And Big Clubs Throughout Europe, And It's Pretty Evident We Are Welcoming An Extraordinary Football Man To Fulham Football Club."

Ranieri Praised The Fulham Squad As Having "Exceptional Talent", Adding: " I Know This Team Are Very Capable Of Better Performances, Which We Will Work On Straight Away As We Prepare For Southampton At The Cottage (On Nov 24)."

After That, Fulham Will Meet Ranieri's Former Clubs Chelsea (Dec 2, Away) And Leicester (Dec 5, Home).