Leicester City are searching for a third manager in eight months after sacking Craig Shakespeare just 10 games into a three-year contract.
Sporting director Jon Rudkin dismissed Shakespeare at the club’s Belvoir Drive training ground having allowed him to take charge of a friendly against Nottingham Forest.
Senior players were seen cheerily chatting to Shakespeare as the game, featuring squad members, took place but had left by the time the 53-year-old learned his fate at 2.30pm. Many found out the news by reading MailOnline, much to their disgruntlement.
Assistant Michael Appleton will take charge for Leicester’s game at Swansea on Saturday as the hunt for a permanent replacement begins.
Sam Allardyce is interested in the job, as is Chris Coleman. The Wales manager is considering leaving the international scene and would be open to talks at Leicester.
The club’s Thai owners, who are not in the country, want to appoint a major figure, but former Borussia Dortmund manager Thomas Tuchel and Carlo Ancelotti are not thought to be keen on the job.
Huddersfield’s David Wagner is a serious contender and Watford’s Marco Silva has admirers in the boardroom, while Burnley’s Sean Dyche has also been discussed and would be interested.
Shakespeare’s position had come under scrutiny after one win in eight Premier League games left the club in the relegation places, but the timing of the move was a shock.
Shakespeare remained hugely popular among members of the title-winning team, having worked at the club in two spells since 2008, although some of the younger and newer players felt a change was necessary.
Some at the club believe Shakespeare has paid the price for unreliable recruitment headed by Rudkin and the failure to adequately replace Danny Drinkwater and N’Golo Kante, both sold to Chelsea.
While Harry Maguire’s signing looks a success, the jury is out on Kelechi Iheanacho and Vicente Iborra.
But the most glaring error was Leicester’s failure to ratify Adrien Silva’s deadline-day transfer from Sporting Lisbon. Silva has hugely impressed his prospective team-mates in training and it is a poor reflection on Leicester that the Portugal star cannot play until January because paperwork was submitted too late.
Shakespeare took over from Claudio Ranieri in difficult circumstances and won his first six games to steer Leicester clear of relegation trouble and into the Champions League quarter-finals.
Turning his interim role into a permanent appointment at the end of the season should have been a formality, but a delay until June 8 hinted at reticence from owners Vichai and Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha.
It is accepted by the hierarchy that Leicester had a difficult run of fixtures but tepid displays in draws against Huddersfield, Bournemouth and West Brom were Shakespeare’s downfall. Supporters have voiced their concerns in greater numbers on social media in recent weeks.
Against West Brom on Monday, only Riyad Mahrez’s 80th-minute goal earned a point which left Leicester 18th in the table.
Rudkin let Shakespeare take a warm-down session on Tuesday morning and then the match featuring fringe players against a Forest XI, which kicked off at 11.30am. That the news was not delivered first thing has caused a degree of upset.
Appleton, who left his role as Oxford United manager to become Shakespeare’s No 2 this summer, will be in charge of the team for Saturday’s vital clash at the Liberty Stadium, supported by coaches Mike Stowell and Adam Sadler.
Vice-chairman Aiyawatt said: ‘Craig has been a great servant to Leicester — during his spells as assistant manager and since taking over as manager in challenging circumstances in February. His dedication to the club and to his work has been absolute and the contribution he made to the most successful period in Leicester City history is considerable.
‘However, our early promise under Craig’s management has not been consistently evident in the months since and the board feels that, regrettably, a change is necessary to keep the club moving forward — consistent with the expectations of our supporters, board and owners.
‘Craig is and will remain a very popular, respected figure at Leicester and will be welcome back at King Power Stadium in future, both professionally and as a friend of the club.’
