Reaction given to Leicester City, Gary Rowett developments - "better option" identified | OneFootball

FLW’s Leicester City fan pundit has issued his thoughts on Gary Rowett being listed as the favourite to replace Marti Cifuentes.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Leicester City are on the hunt for a new boss after parting ways with Marti Cifuentes last weekend.

The Spaniard was relieved of his duties after just six months in charge at the King Power Stadium, with a 2-1 home loss to Oxford United his final game, as the club suffered an 11th defeat of the campaign.

The former Queens Park Rangers boss leaves Leicester 14th in the Championship standings, taking 38 points from their 29 second-tier games.

There is also a fear that Leicester could be sucked into a relegation battle given their struggles with PSR compliance. They await a legal verdict which began in November 2025 to determine whether the club will be hit with a hefty points deduction.

With baring all this in mind, the Leicester hierarchy is keen to change the club’s fortunes and get them pushing up the table, so if a points deduction does arrive, they still have their Championship status intact and can build towards a Premier League return once this financial storm has blown over.

At the moment, there is little to suggest Leicester are close to finalising an appointment, but there has been some movement as to who the Foxes are considering.

One of those is Gary Rowett, who is currently listed as the favourite for the job and has been out of work since leaving Oxford in December 2025.

With this in mind, FLW’s Leicester City fan pundit has commented on whether he would welcome Rowett into the dugout to replace Cifuentes.

Speaking to Football League World, Leicester City fan pundit Louchlainn Martin has admitted he would prefer the Foxes to move for Stockport County boss Dave Challinor over Gary Rowett, but would still back the latter to turn their fortunes around if he was the club’s choice.

Louchlainn told FLW: “I’ve seen Gary Rowett is one of the favourites for the Leicester City job, and it doesn’t surprise me in the slightest for some reasons. Number one, he used to play for Leicester, number two, he’s recently out of work and number three, he has a bit of experience in the EFL, both as a manager and a player, so it makes sense.

“I think there are better options out there for sure. I’m going to look below the Championship here, and I’m going to look at Stockport County, and their manager, Dave Challinor. That’s one manager I’d want over Gary Rowett.

“Breaking down what Gary Rowett would do at Leicester, he would focus on shoring us up defensively, which is, of course, a tick. He’s a manager that frustrates opposition managers, the way he sets his teams up does frustrate the teams that you play, but it intrigues me how he would set up with a team like Leicester, which, let’s be honest, has a lot of quality compared to the teams he’s managed previously.

“I always find it interesting when you get managers who tend to manage the lesser quality sides, it’s always interesting to see what they do with more quality, and I think Gary Rowett is the same there. I’d be interested to see what he does.

“From what I’ve read and heard about him, he does like counter-attacking football, focuses on a defensive setup but with quick transitions, and those are things a lot of Leicester fans would take this season given the absolute mess we’ve been defensively.

“It’s definitely one I’m not rolling my eyes up at and saying 'no way', but again, I do think there are better options available, but it depends on what direction Leicester City want to go in.

"If Gary Rowett is the man to come in, I’m not going to complain, I’ll get behind him and see what he does.”

Leicester City may need Gary Rowett in the short-term to keep the Foxes in the Championship

There’s a real period of uncertainty for Leicester City right now, particularly when they are still unsure about whether they will face a points deduction for PSR breaches.

It has been touted a hit would be between six and 10 points, which would see the club be either on the cusp of or actually slipping into the bottom three, so you feel the board have done the right thing to pull the plug on Marti Cifuentes and try to undergo a new manager bounce, in order to give themselves some leeway before a deduction comes into play.

In this situation, Leicester need someone who can just keep them in the division at all costs, so it’s no surprise to see Gary Rowett emerge as the favourite and act as a second-tier firefighter.

Rowett has a proven track record of coming into sides and generating positive results, with an onus firmly needed on solidifying the backline, which has been a big reason for Leicester’s under-par return to the Championship.

He also enjoyed a couple of years of his playing career at Leicester too, so he has that previous connection to try and build an instant rapport with the supporters.

You do feel any deal for Rowett should only be until the end of the season, and if Leicester can stay up, then they can appoint a longer-term boss at the start of next season, like a Dave Challinor, who can eventually help drive them back to the promised land of the Premier League in the years to come.