Macphee ready to live out World Cup dream for real

0 Michael O’neill is hoping his Northern Ireland squad can overcome Switzerland in the play-offs. Leicester’s decline since winning the English Premier League took a new twist yesterday when they fired Craig Shakespeare as their manager, with the Thai-owned club in the relegation zone after a rocky start to the season.

Shakespeare, pictured, was coach on a full-time basis for just four months, having been hired initially as interim manager after Claudio Ranieri was dismissed in February when Leicester were threatened by relegation the season after improbably winning the title.

Shakespeare’s part-time appointment revived Leicester and kept the team in the top flight with some ease. But Leicester have won only one of their eight league matches this season, despite an outlay of around £60 million on players in the summer transfer window.

“Our early promise under Craig’s management has not been consistently evident in the months since