Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri has told SFR Sport he does not fear the sack despite the Premier League champions being in danger of relegation.
Leicester were beaten 3-0 by Manchester United on Sunday, slipping to a fourth straight top-flight defeat. It is a disastrous run in which they have failed to find the net once, and now find themselves 16th in the table, just a point above the bottom three.
Despite Ranieri having guided the Foxes to a miraculous title win last May, serious questions about his future are now being raised.
However, British media reports suggest Ranieri has the backing of influential members of the club, such as director of football Jon Rudkin, and the Italian does not feel his job is in jeopardy.
Claudio Ranieri reste "confiant" et ne se sent pas menacé : "Une réaction est impérative !" ��⚽️���� #PLZone #Leicester cc @premierIeagueFR pic.twitter.com/Poy5FzpjKJ
- SFR Sport (@SFR_Sport) February 5, 2017
"No, no, no, no ...The chairman and I are very, very close. No, no, no, no," Ranieri, who was named FIFA Coach of the Year last month, said.
The former Chelsea boss reportedly told his title-winning squad they should demand a new manager themselves if they were not happy with him.
Despite the loss to United, however, Ranieri insisted he had seen signs the squad still backs him.
"Things are good. We battled right till the end, which shows the team is completely united," he added.
"Yes, it's imperative, because we play against Swansea [on Sunday] who are in the same position as us, so it's very important."
Leicester City are the first Premier League team to fail to score in the first five matches of a calendar year and the only side in the top four English tiers to have failed to score in the league in 2017.