Ranieri: They Are Fighters

- The manager describes his players as ‘fighters’ after an unbeaten pre-season. 

- He calls for the same mentality in their opening Premier League game against Sunderland on Saturday 8 August. 

Claudio Ranieri has praised the fighting spirit of his players after they produced a rousing comeback to end their pre-season on a high note away at Birmingham City. 

The Foxes went 2-0 down in the first half at St Andrew’s thanks to stunning goals from David Cotterill and Demarai Gray, but strikes from Robert Huth, Danny Drinkwater and Shinji Okazaki ensured Ranieri’s men came out on top. 

It was a performance that will give City’s new boss plenty of encouragement ahead of the Barclays Premier League opener against Sunderland on Saturday 8 August. 

Speaking exclusively to Foxes Player HD, Ranieri reflected on the victory, saying: “It started very well. I think in the first 20 minutes were our best of pre-season. But suddenly we conceded two fantastic goals. 

“When you watch the two goals you can only clap the two players who scored them. After this we slowed down our tempo like we didn’t believe it was possible for it to be 2-0 to our opponent. 

“In the second half we played very well and played on the floor with a quick tempo how I like.” 

And having seen such an encouraging performance from his players in the second half Ranieri was left in no doubt about the qualities he wants to see from them when the new season gets underway next week. 

“They have good character, good spirit and they are fighters. That is what I want. First of all a team like Leicester has to fight, then we can play as well. 

“For me the first thing that’s important is we fight. When you are a fighter then you can move, win and grow. We have to do that on the pitch.”