Leicester City expected to hand caretaker Craig Shakespeare manager’s job until end of season
Defending Premier League champions Leicester City are expected to hand caretaker boss Craig Shakespeare the manager’s job until the end of the season following a successful stint in temporary charge.
Shakespeare was given the reins following Claudio Ranieri’s sacking last month and has guided the Foxes to back-to-back league victories which have eased the club’s relegation fears.
Under Ranieri’s former assistant Shakespeare, Leicester have managed to recapture the form which saw them shock the football world by securing an unprecedented 5,000-1 title success.
Triumphs over Champions League-chasing Liverpool and fellow strugglers Hull City have lifted the Midlanders to 15th, five points clear of the drop zone.
While relegation worries linger, Leicester have eased immediate concerns over becoming the first top-flight champions to be relegated since Manchester City in 1938.
Shakespeare, who has never managed full-time, was brought to the King Power Stadium by Ranieri’s predecessor Nigel Pearson, who was sacked in June 2015 following a deterioration in his relationship with the club’s Thai owners.
Should Shakespeare, 53, be appointed until the end of the campaign, his next hurdle will be Tuesday’s Champions League last-16 second leg tie against Sevilla.
Leicester trail 2-1 from the first leg – Ranieri’s final match before his sacking – although Jamie Vardy’s away goal at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium could yet prove pivotal. As well as a potential Champions League quarter-final, 10 domestic matches remain for Leicester to haul themselves fully clear of danger.