EPL newcomers sacks coach, appoints Ex-Chelsea boss

Claudio Ranieri appointed manager of Fulham after Slavisa Jokanovic is sacked by Premier League strugglers.

Fulham have sacked Slavisa Jokanovic and appointed Claudio Ranieri as the manager in an attempted to rescue their season.

Jokanovic led the London club to promotion in May but has struggled to adapt them to life in the top flight despite a £100 million recruitment drive in the summer.

They are bottom of the league with five points from 12 games and chairman Shad Khan has turned to Ranieri who led Leicester to their remarkable title win in 2016.

Ranieri said: ‘It is an honour to accept Mr. 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 Premier League. We must at all times be a difficult opponent and should expect to succeed. This Fulham squad has exceptional talent that is contrary to its position in the table.

‘I know this team is very capable of better performances, which we will work on straight away as we prepare for Southampton at the Cottage.’

Ranieri left Nantes in May after one season at the French club he joined after he was sacked by Leicester.

The first game in charge for the 67-year-old Italian will be against fellowship strugglers Southampton after the international break.

Khan said: ‘I wasn’t anticipating having to make this announcement related to Slavisa and wish the circumstances were such that I didn’t have to, 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.

‘Slavisa will always have my appreciation and respect for everything he did to return Fulham to top-flight football.

‘I am hoping everyone in the Fulham Family shares my heartfelt sentiments for Slavisa and joins me in wishing him success and good fortune, wherever his next stop may be.

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‘Making a change without having the right answer or succession plan was not an option, so having someone of Claudio’s calibre ready to accept our challenge was comforting but, most of all, essential.

‘Claudio is risk-free and ready-made for the Premier League, and particularly so for what we need at this moment at Fulham.

‘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 at Fulham FC.’