Danny Simpson admits Claudio Ranieri’s removal of chicken burgers pissed players off

They say that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach.

And, as it turns out, that's the same way to piss off a bunch of professional footballers. Several media reports at the time suggested that former Leicester boss Claudio Ranieri's decision to change the meal options for Foxes players played a surprisingly large role in the gradual breakdown between manager and team. Ranieri famously rewarded clean sheets with pizzas during Leicester's fairytale season last time around but they were few and far between this term. When results began going against the Foxes earlier this season, Ranieri tinkered with the diets of his players and, according to right-back Danny Simpson, it did not go down well. "After games, we would have chicken burgers and potato wedges and he then changed them to sweet potatoes and pasta,” Simpson told the Times. "I understand his point but the lads liked what we were used to, chicken and wedges." It had been suggested by some sources that a number of unhappy senior players had met with the Leicester owners and that had ultimately led to Ranieri's dismissal, a claim which was outright rejected by goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel. And Simpson also opened up on the flak faced by certain players once Ranieri's sacking was confirmed. "It went crazy. We were getting it from all angles, even from some of our own fans. We were called snakes," Simpson said. "It was disappointing to see Claudio leave and we got that much stick it made us angry. We felt it was unjustified. "We appreciated what he'd done, he's a top man, an infectious character. At the time, it [Ranieri's sacking] was seen as a loss for football."