‘He’s An Expert’ – Ex-EFL Star Sees Gary Rowett Impact At Leicester City | OneFootball

Alex Burstow/Getty Images

Former EFL winger Adrian Clarke has backed Gary Rowett to extract the quality in the Leicester City squad, as he closes in on the job at the Championship club.

Leicester sacked Marti Cifuentes in late January after a 2-1 loss against Oxford United, which resulted in them being 14th in the Championship table.

The Spaniard was appointed at the start of the season, with the hope of taking the Foxes back to the Premier League, even taking a pay cut, but his time could not have gone any worse as Leicester are now in the bottom three of the second-tier.

The Foxes started the season with five draws in their first ten games before going on a three-game losing streak and were never able to find the consistency throughout the year.

After sacking Cifuentes, Leicester appointed former player Andy King as interim head, but with three losses in the league and getting knocked out of the FA Cup, his reign has not had the desired effect.

Now former Oxford United boss Rowett is considered to be the heavy favourite to lead Leicester and he has been backed to do well with the ‘talented’ Foxes squad by former EFL star Clarke.

In Clarke’s view, Rowett, who played for Leicester, will be well-equipped to deal with their under-performing squad as he is an expert in managing clubs lower down the table in the second-tier.

Clarke feels that despite the points deduction, Leicester, have too talented a squad to be anywhere near their current league position, insisting Rowett is the right appointment to extract their quality.

When asked about the Foxes getting close to appointing Rowett on EFL All Access (29:20), Clarke answered: “I like it, I like it because he’s a good manager, he knows his way around.

“He is an expert in the Championship, he’s an expert working with teams probably towards the bottom of the Championship.

“I think he was quite harsh on him to lose the gig at Oxford earlier on in the season.

“He is a former Leicester player, he’ll know the club and be passionate about it, and let’s be honest, they just need their heads knocking together.

“That squad, obviously they’ve had a points deduction, but that squad should be nowhere near the bottom half of the table, let alone the relegation zone.

“So the quality is there and I think he could be the guy to extract that.”

Leicester added to their squad in the winter window, bringing in Premier League experience in the shape of Jamaal Lascelles, whose class has been talked up.

Should Rowett get the job, he will want to make the most of Harry Winks, with calls for the midfielder to be given a prominent role.

Leicester have not won a game in their last seven attempts and are now right among the relegation fight with just 32 points accumulated in the Championship so far.

Rowett will be eyeing an early impact, with wins crucial to steadying the Foxes ship.