Chelsea coach Maurizio Sarri believes Claudio Ranieri will not retire despite being fired by Fulham after just 106 days in charge.
Ranieri paid the price for a terrible run of form which saw him win just three games and left Fulham 10 points adrift from safety in the Premier League.
The 67-year-old, who won the title with Leicester in 2016, replaced Slavisa Jokanovic at Craven Cottage in November, but the fans turned on him as results went awry while there are suggestions the players didn’t enjoy his tactics or training methods.
But Sarri, who is preparing his Chelsea side to face Fulham on Sunday, thinks his fellow Italian never stood much of a chance given the state the west London club were in following Jokanovic’s departure.
He said: “I'm really very sorry. But I know very well his character, so I know very well that we will see him very soon on another bench.
“It was really a very difficult situation from the beginning, I think. It's very difficult. It's not easy to be able to do the same job in two different situations, I think. And so he was unlucky.
“I think (he will be hurting) a lot. Of course, I think it's normal. But he's very strong and I think in a few days he'll be able to think about the next situation, to the future. The situation was difficult, the situation now is difficult.”
Former Chelsea midfielder Scott Parker has been put in charge for the rest of the season at Fulham and Sarri is wary that the Blues may now face a tougher fixture.
He added: “Usually, when there is a change of coach, there is a reaction. And so we have to front, also, the reaction. Then it's difficult for us to prepare the match to know their new systems and ideas.
“I think they have also opportunities to save themselves, so we'll have to play a very difficult match. A derby. We need another very good performance, I think, in this match.”
