Leicester City legend Tony Cottee has been left baffled at the club's decision to dispense with the services of Claudio Ranieri.

With Leicester currently battling for their lives near the bottom of the Premier League team, the club hierarchy have decided to sack manager Ranieri on Thursday and the decision to dispense with the affable Italian despite his wonderful title achievements last year has not pleased many.

Cottee is among the many people who do not agree with the decision and has expressed his bafflement regarding the board's ruthless move.

Cottee said on Sky Sports: "I can't quite get my head around it.

"I was at the game last night (against Sevilla) and they could have lost heavily if things had gone against them but when Vardy got that away goal you're thinking Leicester have got a real chance.

"They lost but that was a good result for them and they'd have been looking forward to the second leg. From that point of view the timing couldn't have been any worse. This is like a normal Leicester season - they are normally in the bottom half of the table and they are normally flirting with relegation.

"I don't think it'll go down too well with the supporters. He gave them a season that will never be matched. It'll just never happen again. I think he should've been given more time and a bit more respect. Then if they do go down, you say thank you very much and you move on."