Leicester City’s situation worsened on Saturday as they dropped into the Championship’s bottom three, with no permanent manager in place. While the Foxes were eliminated from the FA Cup by Southampton, Blackburn claimed a victory at QPR, leaving Leicester 22nd in the league table.
The win was a debut success for Blackburn’s new manager, Michael O’Neill, leaving Leicester as the only club in the division without a full-time manager. It has now been 20 days since Marti Cifuentes was sacked, and interim boss Andy King has overseen three league defeats and a cup exit after extra time. King remains in the dark about the club’s search for a new manager.
Asked if there was any update, King said, “Nope. I’m sorry to keep letting you guys down about that. It’s not a question for me. I can’t answer you on that.”
When pressed about the delay in appointing a new boss, he added, “No, nothing like that. My job was to take the team while they search for a new manager. I’m sure they are speaking to people. I haven’t had time to look for answers. My focus has been on preparing the team, getting them doing the right things, and trying to climb the table.”
King also confirmed that the club has never asked him to take over for the remainder of the season. “We’re all on the same page. I’m doing this while they search for someone permanent. I don’t want the job and I’m not going for it. I’m just covering until they appoint a manager,” he said.
Currently, Leicester sits one point from safety, a gap that could rise to two if Portsmouth earns a result against Charlton midweek before Leicester faces Stoke next weekend.
Reflecting on the team falling into the relegation zone, King said, “It doesn’t change how I feel. I’ve been very clear with the players and the club. We’ve got 14 games left to make sure we stay above the line. Ideally, Blackburn would have lost, but we can’t control other teams. Our focus is making sure we finish better than at least three other teams. That is the goal moving forward.”