Alan Smith "flabbergasted" by Claudio Ranieri sacking

Former Leicester City striker Alan Smith has said that he is "flabbergasted" at the club's decision to sack manager Claudio Ranieri just nine months after he won the Premier League title.

The Foxes became the most unlikely top-flight champions in English football history last season as Ranieri's side overcame 5,000-1 odds in sensational fashion to finish 10 points clear at the top of the table.

However, with the club now sitting only one point above the relegation zone, Leicester have parted company with the man responsible for their greatest ever achievement, and Smith is stunned that he was not given more time to turn things around.

"I'm flabbergasted. We've seen some surprising decisions over the last 10 years but this one tops the lot, given his amazing achievements last season," he told Sky Sports News.

"You just thought that, unless they went down, they would stay with the manager who engineered the finest moment in the club's history, and the biggest and most romantic story we've ever seen in football. I'm just amazed they didn't hold their nerve and stay with their man.

"As always the players have to take a long hard look at themselves. These are the same players that were picked and performed last season – and they just haven haven't done that. It's a sorry situation."

Leicester are without a win or even a goal in the Premier League since the turn of the year.