Foxes’ revival hits buffers
– The renewed feelgood factor at Leicester City is seeping away and the Premier League champions still have work to do ahead of today’s trip to West Bromwich Albion.
Craig Shakespeare, who took over as manager following title-winning Claudio Ranieri’s sacking in February, has lost just three of his 11 games in charge.
Yet the third of those defeats, at Arsenal in midweek, left the Foxes still with just 37 points and glancing over their shoulders at potential relegation problems with five games remaining.
One more victory should allay any lingering fears, but until the 40-point barrier is passed, Shakespeare knows his own long-term future is unlikely to be resolved by Leicester’s Thai owners.
“When they first appointed me I said if they want to talk that is fine,” he said. “I am quite comfortable, but my remit was to the end of the season.
“I said before we need some more points on the board and we are disappointed not to get them, but we move on now to Saturday.”
Shakespeare will be keen to restore Wes Morgan (above) to the heart of his defence for the trip to Albion, where the Leicester manager played as a midfielder and cut his teeth in coaching.
Morgan returned from a back injury for the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinal defeat to Atletico Madrid, but the centreback then suffered a hamstring problem that forced him to miss the 1-0 midweek loss at the Emirates Stadium.
“I am hoping he can train fully with the lads who didn’t play at Arsenal,” said Shakespeare. “It is a quick turnaround and we need to dust ourselves down very quickly. It doesn’t give us much recovery time.
“We are disappointed in the dressing-room but we have another game against tough opponents on Saturday.”
Yohan Benalouane has deputised impressively during Morgan’s absence while the pair played together against Atletico when Robert Huth was suspended.
That would give Shakespeare a tough selection decision if Morgan is declared fit, although the captain would be favourite to start ahead of the Tunisian. – AFP
It is a quick turnaround and we need to dust ourselves down very quickly. Craig Shakespeare Leicester City manager