Craig Shakespeare sacked by Leicester City after only four months in charge as club confirm dismissal

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Craig Shakespeare has been sacked by Leicester City after only four months in permanent charge of the club following the Foxes’ 1-1 draw at home to West Bromwich Albion.

Leicester dropped into the bottom three with that result, two points adrift of safety and the club’s Thai owners have acted quickly, despite only eight games being played of the season so far.

Shakespeare was called into a meeting on Tuesday following the game on Monday night to be informed of the decision after a disappointing run of just the one win in 10 games.

In a statement, Leicester vice chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha said: “Craig has been a great servant to Leicester City – during his spells as an 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 long-term expectations of our supporters, Board and owners.

“Craig is and will remain a very popular, respected figure at Leicester City and will be welcome back at King Power Stadium in future, both professionally and as a friend of the Club.”

The 53-year-old joined Leicester in 2011, for his second spell as assistant manager at the club, along with Nigel Pearson and remained in the role when Claudio Ranieri took over in 2016.

He was a key part of the group who won the Premier League that year and took over from the Italian when he was sacked the following February, keeping the job on an initial temporary basis until the end of the season.

He was then named permanent boss in the summer, signing a three-year deal, but has now been sacked four months later.

Speaking prior to Monday night’s game, Shakespeare said: “It's the reality, we all understand that you can draw four games on the trot and the spin becomes that you haven't won for four games.

“With the amount of coverage on TV and radio, social media and online comment, it's normal now to be questioned after four games.

“The key thing is don't try and get too agitated and upset if people don't like the way you're doing things - of course it's lovely to be well liked but for every pat on the back there's a kick up the bum coming in a week's time.

“As long as you're quite level with your highs and lows, you've got to maintain that because ultimately it's the players and the owners who will have a bearing on how you succeed.”

Michael Appleton will take charge of the Foxes for this weekend's game away to Swansea.