Champions League rookies Leicester will be happy with THIRD in the group claims Claudio Ranieri

Claudio Ranieri was up to his old tricks again as Leicester prepared for their Champions League bow, writes Dave Kidd in Bruges .
After spending the first half of last season claiming his table-topping, title-bound Foxes were only interested in securing 40 points and Premier League safety, the Italian claims he is only targeting third place in Group G – allowing Leicester a Europa League place post-Christmas.
As English champions, boss Ranieri ’s rookies are top seeds and are expected to progress to the knockout phase with Porto.
But after Saturday’s 4-1 thrashing at Liverpool , Ranieri believes his team are suffering the after-effects of last season’s miracle.

The 64-year-old, who will take charge of his 45th Champions League game with his sixth different club on Wednesday, said: “There are two positions to go into the knock-out, but also the third position is good for us.
"We need to make (European) experience. It is important for us to go over Christmas and continue to play in Europe.
“Of course we want to go through to the knockout stages of the Champions League and if it is not possible we want to go into the Europa League.
“I don’t want to make illusions for our fans.

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Ranieri and captain Wes Morgan lift the Premier League Trophy in May

"We know very well this season is totally different. Last season, everyone gave 120 per cent and everything was perfect — and perfection isn’t supposed to exist.
“Then maybe this season we have to pay the price of something. But I am very happy to pay now, because we achieved a lot of things last season.
“It is good when the players believe in something. I think we wrote a fantastic fairytale last season because no one, including ourselves, didn’t believe it was possible.
“I think it is impossible to win the Champions League, because there are so many big teams but we have to write another big fairytale, the second story.

Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty

The Leicester boss addresses his players at training in Bruges on Tuesday

Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty

Ranieri and chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha check out the Jan Breydel Stadium

“Yes of course I say it is impossible but Leicester showed the impossible was possible.