Claudio Ranieri: 'We are in a relegation battle'

Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri has admitted that his side are in a relegation battle following their defeat at fellow strugglers Sunderland on Saturday afternoon.

The result left the champions with just one win in their last nine league games and saw them drop to 15th in the table, just two points above the dropzone.

Speaking after the game, Ranieri told BBC Radio 5 live that he would be urging his players to remain "calm" in the wake of their latest defeat.

"This moment is not the right moment for us," he said. "We wanted to get points here but of course it was a relegation battle, they won, well done to them. They started stronger than us in the first 10 minutes. Both teams wanted to win. They scored with our own goal.

"I said two, three weeks ago, always I look behind me. We are in the battle of relegation. For this reason we must stay calm, together and continue to work hard."

The Foxes next face a trip to Porto for the final group game of the Champions League - where they remain undefeated - in midweek, before a tough league test against title-chasing Manchester City next Saturday.