Leicester City eyeing ex-Rangers FC boss to replace Marti Cifuentes - Foxes fans would be divided | OneFootball

Russell Martin is reportedly one of the Foxes' prime targets in their latest managerial search

Leicester City are reportedly considering the potential appointment of Russell Martin at the King Power Stadium, three months after he was relieved of his duties at Scottish Premiership giants, Rangers.

That is according to Football Insider, with it being widely reported that the Foxes hierarchy are looking to appoint a manager/head coach with a strong degree of experience following the failed tenure of Marti Cifuentes.

The Spaniard was unable to translate his previous work in the Championship with Queens Park Rangers at the East Midlands club, despite the fact many had backed Leicester to mount an immediate bid for promotion back to the Premier League after a second relegation within three campaigns.

It has been well-documented that the Foxes are in an extremely concerning financial predicament at present, with PSR constraints limiting the business which Cifuentes was able to conduct in the summer transfer window, despite a mass exodus of high-profile squad members and those on a substantial wage packet.

Although Cifuentes had made a promising start to his tenure at the King Power, Leicester's form has been extremely indifferent for the vast majority of the season, represented by the fact they are currently positioned in 14th in the Championship table, having taken 38 points from 29 league encounters thus far.

They are six points and eight places behind the play-off places at present, as well as being just nine points clear of the relegation zone amid strong fears of a points' deduction due to an accumulation of previous financial breaches.

The final straw for Cifuentes proved to be a dismal showing and a 2-1 home defeat to relegation-threatened Oxford United on Saturday afternoon, leaving former midfield icon, Andy King, in interim charge ahead of the upcoming clash with Charlton Athletic.

A handful of names have been amongst the early favourites to take up the Leicester vacancy, and it is now emerging as to why Martin features as one of those.

Russell Martin linked with Leicester City vacancy following Marti Cifuentes dismissal

Football Insider's aforementioned report claims that Martin is keen on a swift return to the managerial scene, having been dismissed at Ibrox in early October after a frustrating spell in charge of Rangers.

Ironically, his initial appointment in Glasgow also came after the 40-year-old was heavily linked with a move to Leicester in the lead-up to the current campaign amid the sacking of Ruud Van Nistelrooy.

During his spell as head coach of the Light Blues, the former Scotland international won just five of 17 matches across all competitions before being replaced by ex-Sheffield Wednesday boss, Danny Rohl, with only one of those successes coming in the Scottish Premiership.

The Brighton-born man does offer recent experience in the Championship, though, having worked at both Swansea City and Southampton after initially honing his managerial craft in charge of MK Dons.

After guiding the South Wales side to two respectable finishes, Martin was able to achieve a first-time promotion back to the Premier League with the Saints two seasons ago, with the South Coast side eventually seeing off Leeds United in the Championship play-off final at Wembley Stadium to be promoted alongside Leicester and Ipswich Town.

However, he would be unable to replicate such form in the top-flight, and was subsequently sacked 13 months ago after a 5-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur at St Mary's, with Southampton winning just one league match at the time of his dismissal before going on to accumulate just 12 points all season.

It was reported in December that Martin had remained on the radar of several Championship sides due to his strong reputation, and it is now being claimed that this remains very much intact, whilst he is ready to accept a sufficient offer that could come through the Foxes.

Such developments also come after it was reported that Gary Rowett - who was sacked by Oxford last month - and Hearts boss, Derek McInnes, are also being considered for the role.

It is fair to say that Martin has divided opinion at both of his two most recent managerial posts, despite winning promotion with Southampton at the first attempt.

With the Leicester hierarchy also feeling the heat from supporters, they simply cannot afford yet another managerial mishap, although they may be left with very little choice in terms of who they appoint due to the club's current financial circumstances.

Martin was able to eventually get his methods across at St Mary's, which included a lengthy mid-season unbeaten run. However, many have debated whether it was a 'failure' that such a high-valued squad fell nine points adrift of the automatic promotion places.

It must be said, though, that at least for the remainder of this season, Leicester are not in contention for automatic promotion, being 17 points behind second with as many matches remaining.