Souness: Ranieri would have taken Leicester down

Graeme Souness believes that Leicester City would have been relegated from the Premier League if they had not sacked manager Claudio Ranieri.

The Italian manager was sacked just nine months after the Foxes’ sensational Premier League triumph with his former club slipping into the relegation zone over the weekend.

And Souness admitted he felt it was inevitable that Leicester would not have survived without fresh leadership for the final few games of the season.

“It’s the harsh reality of Premier League football. I think if Ranieri had stayed it [relegation] would have happened, I think they were doomed,” he said.

(Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)

“I fully understand it. The rot had set in. You look at some of the games they have had in recent weeks and you thought this could be the spark and turn their season around, but how long do you wait?”

But Souness said it was not Ranieri’s fault that Leicester find themselves in such a mess in the league despite reaching the Last 16 of the Champions League.

He added “They [the players] are the ones who have to hold their hands up. That’s the sad reality of the modern game. The players are escaping scot-free and they are the ones to blame.”