Leicester City appoint new manager as Gary Rowett arrives alongside former team-mate π₯
The ex-Birmingham, Derby, Stoke, Millwall and Oxford chief has signed a deal until the end of the season, with Callum Davidson joining him as assistant boss π¨
Gary Rowett is the man entrusted with saving Leicester City after being officially unveiled as their new manager.
The seasoned tactician arrives on a contract running until the summer and will have 14 matches to steer the club away from relegation to League One, beginning with this weekend’s trip to his old club Stoke πββοΈ
Rowett, who led his first training session on Wednesday, is making a return to City after featuring in over 50 games at right-back for the club during the early 2000s, and arrives alongside one of his former teammates, with Callum Davidson brought in as his number two.
The Foxes took 24 days to secure a successor to Marti Cifuentes, with Rowett available following his exit from relegation battlers Oxford in December.
During that period, they’ve suffered three league defeats and crashed out of the FA Cup under caretaker boss Andy King, with Portsmouth’s victory over Charlton on Tuesday night meaning City now sit two points adrift of safety.
Handed the task of turning around City’s fortunes, Rowett certainly boasts a track record of delivering results in the Championship, having overseen more than 400 games in the division during spells with Birmingham, Derby, Stoke, Millwall, and Oxford.
One of his primary challenges will be fixing City’s alarming defensive issues. The side are currently enduring a run of 26 league matches without keeping a clean sheet.
However, Rowett’s teams have typically kept a clean sheet, on average, in one of every three matches he’s managed in the Championship, offering hope for defensive improvements.
Those improvements can’t come soon enough, as City are spiralling in the wrong direction. They’ve collected just one point from their last six outings, and combined with the six-point deduction for breaching Profit and Sustainability Rules, they’ve been plunged into the relegation zone.
They now face the real prospect of dropping to League One for only the second time in their history. π¬