Leicester City chairman Top outlines why Gary Rowett was selected for ‘fight for survival’
Twenty-four days after Marti Cifuentes’ exit, City have hired Gary Rowett on a deal until the end of the season, with 14 games for the new manager to keep them up
Gary Rowettâs âdeep knowledge and experienceâ of the Championship convinced chairman Aiyawatt âTopâ Srivaddhanaprabha to place him in charge of Leicester Cityâs fight for survival.
Appointing Rowett 24 days after Marti Cifuentes’ departure, Top stressed that avoiding relegation to League One was the sole priority from now until the end of the campaign, with City having dropped into the bottom three at the weekend.
Rowett has been a consistent fixture in Championship dugouts over the past 12 years and so understands the league inside out. That has been deemed crucial.
Top told the club: âGary is a manager with deep knowledge of the Championship and experience of the situation we now face in these final 14 games of the season â a fight for survival in the division.
âIt is a task on which the entire club is focused, and we will provide Gary with every support to help us find the solutions we need.â
Top also expressed gratitude to Andy King, who has overseen the past four games as caretaker boss. King will now return to his role as first-team coach, while Adam Sadler will also remain on the backroom team, with set-piece coach Andy Hughes and incoming assistant manager Callum Davidson also there to support Rowett.
âIâm grateful to Andy King for the professionalism and dedication with which he has prepared the team for recent matches in challenging circumstances,â Top added.
âTogether with the current group of first-team staff, he will remain a valued part of our coaching team, providing important continuity from which Gary and Callum can help to build.â
Rowettâs first game in charge is against one of his former clubs Stoke on Saturday, while he will meet the media for the first time on Thursday afternoon.