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Ranieri: ‘It’s Close To My House… Why Not?’

Ranieri: ‘It’s Close To My House… Why Not?’

Ranieri: ‘It’s Close To My House… Why Not?’

Joel Pattison

Joel Pattison

Claudio Ranieri was announced Fulham manager a couple of weeks ago following the dismissal of Slavisa Jokanovic.

The former Chelsea boss', who already lived in West London, first match in charge was last weekend when they won 3-2 against Southampton at Craven Cottage.

It was only the Cottagers second Premier League victory of the season, following nine league games without a win.

Ranieri also revealed that he regularly attended games at Craven Cottage before replacing Jokanovic.

PA

He was at the game against Crystal Palace on the opening day of the season, along with others.

In an exclusive interview with Sky Sports, the Italian explained his reasoning for taking the Fulham job.

"(Fulham) is a good club, an historical club," Ranieri said.

"Good president, fantastic club... close to my house... why not? It's perfect, for me."

PA

Ranieri admitted that his side were a little bit lucky in their five-goal thriller: "The players, without the players you can achieve nothing," the 67-year-old added in the interview with Sky Sports.

"And the rest period, their qualities and I think also we were a little lucky. Without luck you can achieve nothing."

Meanwhile, Ranieri's pursuit of getting Fulham out of the relegation zone continues today as they travel to local rivals Chelsea.

The game kicks-off at midday at Stamford Bridge and the Lilywhites are massive 16/1 to beat Maurizio's side men, while the Blues are 1/5 to bounce back from last weekends 3-1 defeat to Tottenham. A draw can be backed at 13/2.

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