I would love to be like him." Still working at 70? "I hope, I don't know I like the pressure I feel alive," he says Never more so than now.. An immediate, domestic influence was the Milan of the early Nineties and Arrigo Sacchi, who did much to dispel the catenaccio approach of the Italians although, further back, Ranieri expounds enthusiastically of the Dutch national team of Rinus Michels. "It was crazy with the tapes - I knew all the movements they made across the pitch," he says.Ranieri will duel with another eternal enthusiast today - Sir Bobby Robson - and is "curious" to see how his players respond after their midweek triumph. He is "an Italian manager and they are always looking around the world at how other teams are playing". do you want my blood? No, no, no more players."On the subject of new players, the acquisition of one of his most recent - Damien Duff - leads to an explanation of Ranieri's footballing beliefs. "For the Tinkerman, he is right," - because the brilliant young Irishman can play anywhere across the midfield or up front. This philosophy is, Ranieri offers, an Italian-Spanish-English hybrid of the Dutch concept of Total Football.

I had said to him that it is important when we lose that he stays with us. When we lost against Besiktas and against Arsenal he was the first in the dressing room and we all appreciated that."Now Ranieri wants the spending to stop for a while. He says, unconvincingly, that there will be no new arrivals in January The Tinkerman wants the squad he has to gel "I have 25 players now, please," he says when questioned "What do you want... The club's billionaire owner, Ranieri maintains, has been supportive in other ways. "He is a good man and always comes into the dressing room after a match," Ranieri explains "Always he is smiling After losing against Arsenal he was fantastic.

"I said to Mr Abramovich that Real Madrid are one of the best teams in the world and they have a great player and everything goes around him, and this man is Claude Makelele I would like to buy him. For me Real Madrid was Claude Makelele."And so Chelsea bought him. I know that Roman Abramovich wants to put Chelsea at a high level like Milan or Real Madrid."Mention of Madrid reveals how Abramovich operates, according to Ranieri. Games which may shape Ranieri's season and, perhaps, his future He will take it all in his stride "My philosophy is the same as before. I want to win, I want to win, I want to win," he says.Other things have been altered "Last season we did not buy any players This season we buy 10 or 11 players and change everything Now we are working to build a good team. "When you start to be a manager you know that the pressure is a lot.