Ranieri delighted to be back in the Premier League

Claudio Ranieri is thrilled to be back in the Premier League as Fulham boss, but warned that his promise of pizza to players for keeping a clean sheet may no longer be enough and instead pledged a trip to McDonalds to his players.

Fulham owner Shahid Khan on Wednesday sacked Slavisa Jokanovic and replaced him with the 67-year-old former Chelsea and Leicester boss.

Ranieri told a media conference on Friday: “I’m very happy to come back to a country of football. For me it’s the best league in the world. I’m very happy Mr Khan called me and now we work together.”

The Italian famously used the incentive of pizza for Leicester to claim clean sheets.

Asked if he would use the same ploy at Fulham, he added: “I have to promise something more. Pizza is not enough now. Better everybody to McDonald’s.”

Ranieri had a season-long spell with Nantes in Ligue 1 after being sacked by Leicester in February 2017.

He will face two of his former clubs in his first three games, with the December 2 trip to Chelsea followed by the visit of Leicester on December 5.

He said: “I think only of Southampton. In this moment it’s important. Don’t think about other things,  Southampton, Southampton. And then after Southampton, Chelsea.”

The Cottagers are bottom of the Premier League table with five points from 12 matches, having lost their last seven games in all competitions.

Italian Ranieri, who memorably led Leicester to the title in 2016, has been given a “multi-year” contract and his first match in charge is the November 24 clash with Southampton.

Ranieri, who managed Jokanovic at Chelsea when he was a player, said: “Joka was a fantastic player and also as a manager he made very good things.

“He made fantastic things here in Fulham, but that is our life, the life of the manager or coach, when something goes badly, you have to change.

“It happened to me in Leicester, not only Leicester. It’s normal.”