Craig Shakespeare set to be confirmed as Leicester City manager

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

Craig Shakespeare is set to be confirmed as the new Leicester City boss for the remainder of the season, The Independent understands.

The 53-year-old stepped in as caretaker manager following Claudio Ranieri’s dismissal last month and has since gone on to impress after overseeing back-to-back Premier League wins over Liverpool and Hull City.

Shakespeare and his men travelled to Dubai on Sunday for a warm-weather training camp and it’s understood the former England coach held talks on Monday with Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, club chairman, and Aiyawatt, his son, who joined Leicester on the trip.

Roy Hodgson and Martin O’Neill were sounded out by the club as potential replacements to Ranieri but Shakespeare’s impact, in securing six vital points for the Foxes and returning unity to the side, has convinced the owners to entrust the former assistant manager with first-team responsibilities for the remaining 11 games of the season.

Shakespeare also has the backing of the fans, who sang his name during Saturday’s 3-1 victory over Hull, and is highly regarded by Jon Rudkin, Leicester’s director of football.

His first game in charge as manager will be Leicester’s second-leg last-16 Champions League clash with Sevilla next week, as they look to overturn a one-goal deficit, before attention turns to the side’s Premier League survival fight.

Shakespeare offers continuity with Nigel Pearson, having served as assistant to the mercurial manager, whose time in charge set the foundations for Leicester's title-winning campaign last year.

After Saturday's victory over Hull, Shakespeare said: "I haven’t really had an opportunity to think about Sevilla yet.

"The remit was first Liverpool and then Hull. I’ve made sure that I’ve asked the players just to focus on a game at a time and I need to do that as well.

"I’m quite a calm person at times. I’ve tried to be measured in the things I’ve done because I think it’s important for players to see that. They also need to see a bit of passion as well. But I didn’t feel under pressure."