City have the ‘elite materials’ to bounce back, says boss – but an instant response to top-flight exit isn’t the norm
LEICESTER City have the “elite materials” to immediately bounce back into the Premier League from the Championship, Dean Smith believes.
City will play in the second tier next season after nine years in the top flight and the club’s chairman Aiyawatt “Top” Srivaddhanaprabha has released a statement vowing to do his utmost to make their return an instant one.
Smith, who will hold discussions with City’s hierarchy over his future this week, believes the infrastructure in place at the club means a firsttime promotion is more than possible.
This season, Burnley have shown it is possible, winning the Championship with 101 points, but an immediate return is not the norm.
Since 2000, only 19 of the 69 relegated clubs (28 per cent) have earned promotion back to the Premier League in the following season.
Smith said: “The raw materials this club has are of an elite club. It feels raw now and it hurts. Everybody will be devastated. But with the infrastructure it’s got, it will bounce back. That’s what happens.
“There have been plenty of times where you have knocks and your job is to bounce back and make sure you improve on the things that you felt let you down and I’ve no doubts the club will.
“Any club that gets relegated, they have to find a way to bounce back.
From what I’ve seen with the infrastructure, I see no reason why it can’t bounce back.”
City have now suffered 12 relegations from the top flight, an English record, level with Birmingham City. In their previous 11 demotions, they have only twice come straight back up, in 1995-96 and 2002-03, but there have been five occasions where they’ve returned to the top flight after two seasons.
The last time they were relegated from the Premier League, in 200304, they had 11 seasons outside of the top division, a run that also saw them drop into the third tier for the first time. That was the secondlongest period they’d needed to return to the top flight, with the club’s very first relegation from Division One, back in 1908-09, leading to 12 years in the second tier before they were promoted again. ■■Do you think City will bounce straight back? Let us know at: