Ranieri honoured to lead 'exceptional' Fulham squad
Former Chelsea and Leicester City boss Ranieri replaced the sacked Slavisa Jokanovic on Wednesday after signing a "multi-year" contract, with Fulham stuck at the bottom of the table on five points.
Fulham were among the Premier League's highest spenders in the last transfer window, spending approximately £100million to bolster their squad following promotion from the Championship.
Jean Seri, previously linked with Barcelona, was among the eye-catching arrivals, while World Cup winner Andre Schurrle also signed, as well as Aleksandar Mitrovic and Alfie Mawson.
But Jokanovic was unable to muster a winning formula this term, losing his last six league games in charge and leading Fulham to only one victory in the Premier League.
2 - Only two sides have ever had fewer points after their opening 12 Premier League games to a season than Fulham's tally of five this campaign - Everton (4 in 1994-95) and QPR (4 in 2012-13). Dismissal. pic.twitter.com/8kRrLLHOqy
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 14, 2018
Ranieri, a Premier League winner with Leicester in the 2015-16 season, feels the talent at Fulham means they should be looking up the league table.
"It is an honour to accept Mr Khan's invitation and opportunity to lead Fulham, a fantastic club with tradition and history," Ranieri told the club's website.
"The objective at Fulham should never be to merely survive in the Premier League. We must at all times be a difficult opponent and should expect to succeed.
"This Fulham squad has exceptional talent that is contrary to its position in the table. I know this team is very capable of better performances, which we will work on straight away as we prepare for Southampton at the Cottage."
Ranieri's first game in charge will be against Southampton on November 24, while his former club Leicester visit Craven Cottage early next month.