Fulham winger Ryan Sessegnon has outlined the approach new manager Claudio Ranieri has instilled since taking over at Craven Cottage.
The Irish Independent quote Sessegnon as saying the Italian has promoted the idea of team unity by making the players eat and spend more time together.
Fulham got off to a winning start under the 67-year-old, beating fellow strugglers Southampton 3-2 at home on Saturday.
Aleksandar Mitrovic scored either side of an Andre Schurrle strike to secure the three points for the Whites, who conceded twice to Saints midfielder Stuart Armstrong.
Sessegnon himself played a key role in the club’s first league victory since the end of August, providing two assists and impressing on the left flank.
On Ranieri’s influence to date, the 18-year-old said:
Our body language today was down to everything that the gaffer’s done since he’s come in. He’s changed a lot of things, in terms of we eat together and we leave together now.
Before, we used to just come up to the canteen and when you finished, you’d just go. Now you can’t leave until everyone’s finished. I think it’s about keeping that team bonding. The warm-ups we do in training are all together, too.
Despite the win, Fulham remain rooted to the bottom of the table after 13 rounds of fixtures and face a difficult trip to Chelsea this Sunday.
