Claudio Ranieri believes he may have been too loyal to his misfiring Premier League champions and suggested he is ready to ditch some of his struggling stars after watching Leicester fall deeper into relegation trouble with a 2-0 defeat at Swansea.
The Foxes suffered a fifth consecutive loss as goals from Alfie Mawson and Martin Olsson saw the Swans boost their own survival hopes at the Liberty Stadium.
The result sees Leicester slip one place above the bottom three and increased the chances of them becoming the first defending champions to be relegated since 1938, while they are the first title holders to lose five games of their defence in a row since 1956.
The likes of Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez and Danny Drinkwater have been pale imitations of the players who starred in the Foxes’ thrilling triumph and they were off the pace again in South Wales.
And Ranieri, when asked if he had been too loyal to his players, admitted maybe he had given them too many chances to turn around an increasingly wretched campaign.
“I could be [too loyal], could be,” said the Italian. “It is difficult when you achieve something so good, you want to give them one chance, two chances, three chances. Maybe now, it is too much.”
He added: “Of course I must change something because it is not possible to continue in this way.”
The 65-year-old still feels he can guide the club out of danger at the end of a week where Leicester’s owners felt the need to publicly back the former Chelsea boss.
“Yes, I think I am still the right man for the job,” he said.
“I always question myself but I always say ‘come on, we can do something good.’
“I think the strength of the man is to have the right balance. Not to be so high when you win; not to be so down when you lose.
“You can remember what we did last season but you need to stay with your feet on the ground and say we have to react together.
“I don’t think the players have lost belief. When I listen to them speaking, they want to react and do something better. That is important because I am confident when I listen to these words.
“But we have to find a solution soon.”
Ranieri also said he had no plans to speak to the club’s owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha.
Support InfoStride News' Credible Journalism: Only credible journalism can guarantee a fair, accountable and transparent society, including democracy and government. It involves a lot of efforts and money. We need your support. Click here to Donate