Saturday 25 February 2017 11:29, UK
Kasper Schmeichel was the first Leicester player to pay their respects to Claudio Ranieri, 24 hours after the Foxes manager was sacked.
The Italian was axed on Thursday night barely two weeks after the owners gave him their "unwavering support" despite disastrous results that have left the club one point above the Premier League relegation zone.
According to Sky sources, Ranieri told close friends he still felt he held the respect of the vast majority of his dressing room and that he only had potential problems with 'a couple' of players.
With Ranieri releasing an emotional statement on Friday evening saying his "dream has died", the club's goalkeeper soon took to Instagram to express his gratitude to his former manager.
Schmeichel said: "I would like to thank Claudio for everything he's done for Leicester City Football Club, and for me personally.
"He deserves massive respect and huge credit for what he achieved here with us. Thanks boss."
It is understood that Leicester's senior players told the club's owners they were unhappy with Ranieri after meeting them on Thursday morning following the Champions League 2-1 defeat at Sevilla.
The meeting was called by the owners - not the players - and they were told by the senior professionals that the relationship between Ranieri and the other members of the coaching staff, including assistant manager Craig Shakespeare, had broken down.
Speaking ahead of the Monday Night Football game against Liverpool as caretaker manager, Shakespeare denied his relationship with Ranieri had deteriorated.
He said: "A lot of it has been speculation without foundation. My relationship with Claudio has been perfectly fine all along - I've never had a problem with him and he's never had a problem with me.
"We spoke on the phone after the news broke, and he actually thanked me for my support. He seemed fine, a bit shocked but his tone was no different."
On reports some players had spoken to the club's owners behind Ranieri's back, Shakespeare added: "I'm not aware of any senior players going to the owners so that's news to me."
Premier League managers also came out in support for Ranieri on Friday. Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho said: "He is somebody that probably deserves to have the Leicester stadium named 'The Claudio Ranieri Stadium'."
Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson did not hold back with his disgust at the decision by saying neutral football fans would want to see Leicester relegated after their "average" players "stuck the knife" into their manager.
