Ranieri certain he has the backing of Leicester players

Following their stunning title triumph last season, Leicester are battling relegation as they sit 16th in the table, a point above the bottom three after 24 games.

(Reuters)

"Journalists ask about the players, and whether they are happy with me, and I can tell you they are happy with me," Ranieri told Sky Sports after Sunday's 3-0 home loss to Manchester United.

"We are together, I have full confidence in the players, and also the players are confident with me. Normally we never give up, but at the moment the confidence is not so high.

"It is important to forget. Last season was something terrific. Now, we have to fight. We are Leicester and we fight."

Leicester, who are on a four-game losing run in the league and have won just twice in their last 15 top-flight games, host second-tier side Derby County in the FA Cup on Wednesday before a trip to face relegation rivals Swansea City four days later.

(Reporting by Shravanth Vijayakumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)