Leicester City handed clear Marti Cifuentes warning - the job could be "too big for him" | OneFootball

Leicester City job could be too big for Marti Cifuentes, says FLW Fan Pundit.

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...

When Marti Cifuentes left Queens Park Rangers earlier this summer, few expected him to be linked with a club of Leicester City's stature so soon.

Yet, reports from The Telegraph's John Percy on Tuesday evening revealed that the former QPR boss is a "strong contender" to replace Ruud van Nistelrooy.

With the Foxes relegated from the Premier League last season, expectations are sky-high, with promotion an immediate target.

Speaking to Football League World, FLW's QPR Fan Pundit Louis was asked whether the job could be too big for Cifuentes amid the links.

Leicester City: The job could be too big for Cifuentes

“Obviously, it is a massive step up from us, with a team coming back down from the Premier League with a bigger budget, more depth in the squad, and overall better players,” said Louis. “Fans are going to be expecting promotion or, at the very least, challenging in the automatic promotion race.”

However, he was clear about the challenges ahead. “Now he has had experience in the Championship with us, but I just think potentially this job could be a bit too big for him because the pressure on him to deliver straight away is going to be massive."

"It could go one of two ways: working with better players might suit him, and he will grow under the expectation, or players might have expected a bigger name appointment to guarantee a push for automatic promotion, and that isn’t a guarantee under him.”

Louis also reflected on the dynamics of playing against his old club. “It will be interesting, particularly when we play Leicester home and away, what the atmosphere will be like. Both games should be cracking, and it would be nice to get one over him, if not once, twice.”

While confident that Leicester will be competitive given their resources, Louis sounded a note of caution: “Teams coming down from the Premier League with the budgets they have and the players, it would be a surprise to see Leicester not challenging, but this is the pressure he will have to face. Let’s hope Leicester don’t come in for any of our players. We don’t want any players joining Cifuentes.”

Ultimately, Louis summed up the uncertainty: “I think the job could be a bit too big for him, to be honest. But fair play to him, he has done well to get that job with how he left QPR. But will he be up for joining a club that absolutely expects to be in the top two at the very least? I’m not so sure.”

Leicester's managerial merry-go-round and recruitment uncertainties

Cifuentes wasn't initially in the frame. Earlier this week, Gary O'Neil and Chris Wilder were linked with the job, but O'Neil has since dropped out. Leciester's handling of Van Nistelrooy's departure has also raised eyebrows, with the club delaying the announcement until late June, months after relegation was confirmed.

The Foxes played their first pre-season fixture against Peterborough United without a confirmed manager in place, which could hamper the early stages of their expected promotion push.

If appointed, Cifuentes would inherit a squad enriched by parachute payments, allowing Leicester more financial muscle than most Championship clubs.

But the question remains whether the promising coach can cope with the expectations and pressure that come with trying to restore a fallen Premier League club back to the top flight, and quickly.

A high-stakes gamble for Leicester City

Appointing Marti Cifuentes could either be an inspired long-term choice or a short-lived experiment. The Foxes must act swiftly to secure the deal and avoid further uncertainty impacting recruitment and morale ahead of the upcoming term.

And as the new term approaches, all eyes will be on Leicester as one of the favourites to reclaim top-flight status. And as for now, the jury is still out on Marti Cifuentes regarding whether he is the man to take the Foxes forward once again.