LEICESTER’S underachieving stars will be in the spotlight when the crisis-torn English Premier League champions start life without Claudio Ranieri this week.

    Ranieri was ruthlessly sacked by Leicester’s Thai owners Thursday amid reports several of the team’s senior players had lost faith in the Italian.

    The decision to axe Ranieri only nine months after he masterminded their incredible Premier League title triumph was widely condemned by his fellow managers and Leicester fans.

    But Ranieri’s tactical tinkering and confusing team selections were said to have angered the likes of Jamie Vardy and Kasper Schmeichel to such an extent that they warned the club’s owners Leicester would be relegated if he stayed. Ranieri was clearly shell-shocked by his dismissal, describing it as the day “his dream died.”(SD-Agencies)