London, Nov 14 (IANS) Fulham on Wednesday announced that it had signed coach Claudio Ranieri on a multi-year contract after sacking coach Slavisa Jokanovic, who left the club in the last place in the English Premier League with five points in 12 matches.
Ranieri, 67, led a once-struggling Leicester City squad to claim the 2016 Premier League title, and the Italian coach will be making his return to top-tier English football after being dismissed from Leicester over a year ago, reports Efe.
"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," Ranieri said.
"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," he added.
Club chairman Shahid Khan said "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 to Fulham," Khan added.
During his 32-year career, Ranieri has coached Napoli, Juventus, Valencia, Atletico de Madrid, Chelsea, Roma, Inter Milan and the Greek national team, among others.
Despite spending more than 100 million pounds ($130 million) over the summer to bring players like Germany forward Andre Schurrle and Ivory coast midfielder Jean Michel Seri, Fulham has only achieved one victory this season, and was already eliminated from the English League Cup.
