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Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri said his side were in a relegation fight after they slumped to a dismal 3-0 defeat at Southampton on Sunday. The defending champions are only five points above the drop zone after the Saints won easily through goals from James Ward-Prowse, Jay Rodriguez and Dusan Tadic. Leicester equalled the worst record after 22 games of any top-flight defending champions in England, sitting alongside Ipswich's struggles from the 1962-63 season. And after the Foxes suffered their 11th defeat in 22 league matches, Ranieri said he should not have tinkered with his side's tactics. Asked whether Leicester were in a relegation battle, he replied: "Yes of course, and it's for this reason that I've wanted 40 points all along from the start of the season. "Look, our goal, our target, is 40 points. It's important to achieve that as soon as possible." But Ranieri moved to deflect criticism away from his players, saying he had been at fault for shifting away from the 4-4-2 formation that underpinned last season's stunning success. "I tried to help my players in the last two matches, I changed our normal shape against Chelsea to three at the back and today I played with a diamond, and this led to some misunderstanding,'' he said. "My players are used to playing 4-4-2, or 4-2-3-1, so for this reason I have made mistakes and it's my fault in the last two matches "It's one thing trying it in training and another entirely on the pitch. "Today there was something wrong and it's my responsibility. If we make mistakes, yes we make mistakes, but also it's myself who has to explain better. "Today they ran a lot but without a point of reference. "I changed it because it wasn't so good and I wanted to help them. But my idea to help them was wrong. It's much better to continue with what they recognise, and then we can be better."
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