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.

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“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.”

West Ham skipper Mark Noble believes team-mate Andre Ayew’s crucial equaliser against Watford is a timely reminder to fans that he has a lot more to give at the club.

Ayew returned to Hammers duty after representing Ghana at the African Cup of Nations and secured a point that took Slavan Bilic’s side up to ninth in the Premier League.

And Noble insists there is more to come from his Ghanaian team-mate.

He said: “Credit to ‘Dre, because he’s come back and worked hard, he’s great around the squad and he got what he deserved.

“He is a very, very good signing and I knew that when we signed him, but he’s had it tough. I’m pretty sure he’ll stay fit now and get us some more goals.”

But Noble believes his side could have come away from Vicarage Road with all three points had they capitalised in front of goal.

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He said: “When you control a game like that and you probably don’t quite get what you deserved, you sit in the changing room afterwards feeling a little bit gutted, if I’m honest.

“The boys played really well away from home, our away form is really good and we’re ninth in the Premier League. It’s looking good and we’re looking like a really good team at the minute.”

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte is in no doubt that the continuing success of his side is down to the togetherness they are showing, instead of focusing on personal glory.

The Blues were forced to dig deep in their 3-1 win against a resurgent Swansea City side on Saturday, with Pedro and Diego Costa both scoring within the last 20 minutes.

That result put the hosts ten points clear at the top of the Premier League table with just 12 games to go, with a club-record 12 home victories in succession helping them to a 20^th top flight win of the season.

But for Conte it is a record that can only now go in one direction, and he is delighted his first experience of English football has been paved with success so far.

But the Italian feels it’s the team spirit of the players that deserves most of the credit, citing Cesc Fabregas – who scored the opener at Stamford Bridge – as one of those making the most of a rare place in the starting XI.

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“He showed a great professional attitude,” said Conte. “I’m pleased to have these opportunities to work with these types of players. We are talking about champions, not medium players, but top players.

“When you have in your squad these type of player that you put in the team and he does not think of himself, but the team, it’s great.

“Another example is Willian. Pedro is playing but Willian’s behaviour is always the same and when you have this type of player, you must go in your house to sleep (well).

“These are great achievements for the team, players and also for me. The record is fantastic.

“It’s important for us to continue this way. It means you are doing very well and probably you stay on top of the table. Now it’s important to try to improve these types of situations and records.”

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has warned the rest of the Premier League he is still hungry for success after inspiring Manchester United to EFL Cup success at Wembley.

The talismanic Swedish striker curled in a stunning free kick in the first half before heading in a late winner as United claimed the trophy with a 3-2 victory over Southampton.

Ibrahimovic has been outstanding since arriving at Old Trafford from Paris Saint-Germain on a free last summer, scoring 26 times.

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And, although his future is still uncertain with his contract up at the end of the season, the 35-year-old has dropped the biggest hint yet that he will stay at the club.

“Wherever I went, I won and I’m happy for it because I had a long career, I had a fantastic career,” he said.

“Before coming to England I could have settled down and been happy with what I’d achieved. But that’s me, I’m not satisfied, I want more and I’m still hungry, even at this age.

“This is my second trophy with the club [after the Community Shield] and I’m super happy. I came to win and I’m winning.

“Southampton played very well and we didn’t play like we normally do. But that doesn’t mean that they didn’t do good because they played a good game.

“From losing 2-0 to come back to 2-2 is not easy also so they did a good game. Congratulations to them for the good game but the trophy is ours.”

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola could flourish as England manager later in his career, according to former Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes.

Guardiola popularised the possession-based ‘tiki-taka’ style of football at Barcelona, before carrying on his success at Bayern Munich.

His City team are third in the Premier League and carry a 5-3 lead into their Champions League last-16 second leg match against Monaco.

While the Citizens are not enjoying the same unwavering dominance that Guardiola’s Bayern or Barca sides boasted, Scholes believes the Spaniard will get things right at City if he is given time.

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According to 42-year-old Scholes, who won 66 caps for the national side, followers of football in England have taken to the 46-year-old’s style of play, and he would be an excellent choice to assume the Three Lions hot seat when his time at City comes to an end.

“I hope he becomes England coach one day and bring us his style,” said Scholes.

“He can still succeed in England. He could improve in defence because at every ground you come under pressure, but everyone in England loves the way his teams play.

“The people of Manchester get to enjoy two of the best coaches in the world [Guardiola and United’s Jose Mourinho] from close by every week.”

Watford forward Mauro Zarate has revealed the extent of the injury sustained in his side’s 1-1 draw with West Ham.

The Argentine forward was stretchered off after receiving nearly ten minutes of treatment at Vicarage Road and boss Walter Mazzarri admitted his player was crying after the game.

Zarate has made it known on social media that he has ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament ruling him out for the rest of the season.

And the Hornets boss revealed his player insisted on staying on the pitch until the injury became too much to take.

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“He was in tears so let’s hope it’s nothing too bad,” said Mazzarri.

“If you see the game I saw he was not completely fine because on the first knock he felt something but he kept telling me to wait and not make the change.

“He wanted to stay on the pitch but it’s true there were two occasions where he hurt his knee.”

The Hornets led through a Troy Deeney penalty but after the Hammers equaliser gained a share of the spoils, Mazzarri lamented his side’s errors.

The Watford boss said: “Of course we are committing too many silly mistakes especially in the second half.

“We cannot allow them to score from a counter-attack especially when we are winning 1-0. But even at the end we could even have won the game.

“Anyway I want more continuity and intensity from my team and hopefully, if it’s possible, for the whole 90 minutes but at least for 70 or 80 minutes.”

Duncan Ferguson could have been secretly disappointed after Romelu Lukaku equalled his Premier League goalscoring record for Everton on Saturday, but Lukaku insists the Scot has been a key figure in him reaching the milestone.

Lukaku produced a trademark powerful run and finish in the 2-0 victory over Sunderland at Goodison Park – his 60^th league goal for the Toffees since joining, initially on loan, in the 2013-14 campaign.

It has only taken the Belgian 129 games to rack up 60 strikes, while club legend Ferguson took 239 matches to initially set the record.

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The 45-year-old is now a first-team coach at Everton and Lukaku was quick to thank him for his help over the past few seasons.

“It’s been good, a nice journey,” he said. “Duncan and I worked very hard with Roberto Martinez and now with Ronald Koeman. I’ve worked really hard with them and they’ve helped me improve my game.

“I’m grateful to them for their help throughout this journey, and especially to my team-mates for their help. Without them, I would never have got this far.

“But the win was the most important thing and I’m happy for the team.

“We have to win as many games as we can. We have a difficult game at Spurs next week, so we have to prepare well for that and then just take each game as it comes.

“If we look too far ahead, you might not focus on the next game, which is the most important thing.”

David Moyes’ Sunderland side are still rooted to the bottom of the Premier League but the Black Cats manager insists it’s not due to lack of effort.

Sunderland suffered a 2-0 defeat to European-chasing Everton on Saturday afternoon as Idrissa Gueye and Romelu Lukaku got the goals.

Jermain Defoe hit the woodwork for his side as they just missed the chance to level before Lukaku sealed the points for the home side who are seventh in the league.

Moyes’ side meanwhile are just two points off safety though and the Sunderland manager admitted he felt his side were in contention at Goodison Park until late on.

“The players are giving it everything they’ve got and it’s certainly not for the lack of effort or running or working (that we’ve lost),” he said.

“We had done ever so well to make sure it was only 1-0.

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“It was late in the game and we were always hoping that we could nick something but we weren’t good enough in the first half.

“I thought we got better in the second half and we sort of had one chance.

“We had grown into it and sort of played better but ultimately we didn’t get it and we gave away a poor second goal.”

Leicester City goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel has called on the Foxes to improve markedly in the last 13 games and ensure their Premier League survival.

The Foxes slipped into the relegation zone over the weekend as a result of Crystal Palace’s victory over Middlesbrough and are managerless after Claudio Ranieri’s shock sacking.

And Schmeichel knows it won’t be easy to pull themselves out of the mess they find themselves in when they welcome Liverpool to King Power Stadium on Monday night.

“We expect a tough test because they’re a top-class side and we’re expecting a very tough game,” the said.

“We had a difficult time against them at Anfield earlier in the season, so we know it will be very hard.

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“We’re going to have to improve because we haven’t been able to hit the standards that are required this season.

“We are in a situation where we have kind of a mini-season of 13 games to go now where we have to improve if we want to stay in this league.

“Any win in the Premier League is huge. We are in desperate need of a win – there’s no question about that. It’s about belief – we have to keep believing and having the faith to keep working hard.”

Fernando Llorente insists Swansea City are still brimming with confidence despite having their progress under Paul Clement checked by Premier League leaders Chelsea.

The Spaniard scored at Stamford Bridge to level the scores after Cesc Fabregas had given the Blues the lead, but Pedro and Diego Costa settled the match.

Since arriving in January, Clement has transformed Swansea into a confident and resilient side – with many pundits now expecting them retain their top-flights status.

And Llorente says the defeat has not deflated his team as he looks forward to facing Burnley next week.

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“For a striker to score it gives you confidence, which is very high for me at the moment,” he said.

“It’s always very difficult playing at Stamford Bridge. It is an amazing club with great players.

“But we fought right to the end and were drawing the game with 18 minutes to go, which says a lot about this team. It’s a pity we conceded the second so late, but we continued to fight.

“The confidence is still high for us because I thought we played a good game. Now we have to keep going, keep working hard and win our next match at home.

“The Burnley game will be very important for us. It will be a difficult one because they are good at the way they play.

“We will have to work hard in the week preparing, but we will go into the game with confidence after the way we have performed over recent weeks.’’