Claudio Ranieri at Fulham: Cottagers hope Italian can reinvent spirit

Ranieri will walk into Fulham’s secluded Surrey training ground and Craven Cottage to find plenty of sympathy for Jokanovic, who was actually his first signing as Chelsea manager.

Jokanovic took Fulham into the Premier League playing attractive attacking football and Tom Greatrex, chairman of the club’s Supporters’ Trust, said in a glowing testimonial: “He will always go down as one of the great Fulham managers.”

Indeed, it was only two weeks ago that owner Khan delivered combative support for Jokanovic in his programme notes for the home game with Bournemouth in response to stories he was facing the sack, writing: “I’m in equal parts amused, astonished and disappointed. I ask you not to believe everything you read. Or, in this case, don’t believe anything you read.”

The subsequent 3-0 loss to the Cherries, a damaging 1-0 reverse at fellow strugglers Huddersfield Town and Sunday’s defeat at Liverpool meant things changed quickly – as Ranieri knows they can after his own sacking at Leicester.

Now he must use his well-honed brand of charm and personal magnetism to not only lift a team short on confidence and low on morale, but also apply a fix to serious flaws in a Fulham side that was expected to live comfortably in the Premier League.

Fulham spent big in the summer to confirm the loan signing of Aleksdandar Mitrovic from Newcastle United for £20m and bring in the likes of Jean Michael Seri from Nice for £25m, Marseille midfielder Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa for £22.3m and Germany World Cup winner Andre Schurrle on loan from Borussia Dortmund, as well as Swansea City defender Alfie Mawson for a deal that could eventually be worth £20m.

There have been questions about how many of these deals were at Jokanovic’s request but only Mitrovic has been a real success and the result has been an imbalanced, uninspired side that has lost its best attacking qualities and has also conceded more goals than anyone else in the Premier League – 31 – and has the worst goal difference at minus 20.

Curing that defensive flaw will be his biggest challenge but he has proved he can do it before – while also getting those big-money buys to justify those lavish price tags.

Ranieri will arrive at Fulham on a tide of goodwill, despite replacing the much-admired Jokanovic, but Fulham’s situation is so serious he may not be able to use the light touch immediately as one of management’s most enduring and popular characters gets back to business.