Soccer-Ranieri summons fighting spirit from Leicester's 'warriors'

LONDON, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Leicester began life under Claudio Ranieri with a thumping 4-2 victory over Sunderland on Saturday and in 25 barnstorming minutes quickly dispelled the doubts of those who questioned the Italian's appointment. More than a few eyebrows were raised when City, still basking in the satisfaction of conjuring a magnificent escape from relegation last season, axed the popular Nigel Pearson, the man who oversaw their rise from the depths. In came Ranieri for a return to the Premier League, 11 years after his sacking by Chelsea and by 3.25pm, Leicester fans were singing his name to the rafters. The hosts raced into a 3-0 lead with two goals from Algerian Riyad Mahrez to add to an opener from new England international Jamie Vardy and the King Power stadium was rocking. Ranieri said he had urged his players to go out and play as "warriors", taking their lead from local rock band Kasabian. "I told my players 'when you go on the pitch and you hear the song from Kasabian, that means they want warriors.' I want to see them as warriors for the fans," Ranieri said. "Kasabian are a fantastic rock band from Leicester and I think the guitar man, Serge, is Italian. It's good and I think they (the fans) love fighters. We are fighters." Sunderland made a game of it after halftime through Jermain Defoe and Steven Fletcher, either side of Marc Albrighton's fourth for Leicester, but Ranieri said he was more than satisfied. "The performance was outstanding from the beginning. I was calm because I saw my players concentrate," he added, saying his Leicester debut was "better" than with Chelsea when they drew 3-3 with Manchester United. Ranieri was known as "The Tinkerman" during his spell at Chelsea but Albrighton said the manager had not changed much since his arrival. "Claudio Ranieri has come in with fresh ideas to add to the way we were playing," he said. "He didn't want to change too much but he has new ideas and we are taking them on board. Sunderland manager Dick Advocaat, who changed his mind on walking away from a club he saved from the drop last season, said reinforcements were needed. "We have to wait [for new players]. We struggled again. Everybody can see that we need more." (Writing by Justin Palmer; editing by Martyn Herman)