Leicester City are hunting for a new manager following the removal of Marti Cifuentes on Sunday afternoon.
Leicester City are seeking a new head coach after Marti Cifuentes’ brief tenure at the King Power Stadium was brought to an end. Cifuentes was dismissed after Saturday’s home loss to relegation-threatened Oxford United.
The former Queens Park Rangers boss claimed just 10 victories from his 29 Championship matches in charge. An uneven campaign has left the Foxes sitting 14th in the table with their lowest points total at this stage of a Championship season since 2007/08 – a campaign that ended in relegation to League One.
Cifuentes’ departure followed growing unrest among supporters inside the King Power Stadium. Chants of “we want Marti out”, heard clearly in front of chairman Aiyawatt ‘Top’ Srivaddhanaprabha, rang out after Oxford scored their second goal.
The Foxes still have 17 matches remaining this season and are only six points adrift of the play-off places. However, with the possibility of an impending points deduction, they could yet be dragged into an unwanted relegation scrap.
So, who is the right man to replace Cifuentes? LeicestershireLive writers share their views…
Jordan Blackwell
What complicates Leicester City’s next appointment is the lack of clarity over the club’s immediate objective. They are six points off the play-offs, so a late push for the top six cannot be ruled out.
At the same time, their performances and the looming threat of a points deduction suggest a relegation battle may be more realistic. With 17 games still to play, they are not yet in a position where they need an emergency appointment purely to grind out results to survive. There is enough time for a new manager to lay foundations for something more sustainable.
That said, it is a delicate balance. City will want a manager capable of implementing an attractive, possession-based style, but those coaches are often hard to secure midway through a season. Moreover, several such managers, including Russell Martin, have seen their reputations suffer. City supporters were unconvinced by Martin even before his disastrous stint at Rangers.
Perhaps, then, it would be wiser to consider someone like Gary Rowett – a manager with a proven record of stabilising Championship sides – at least to shore up the defence and halt the run without a clean sheet.
Josh Holland
Leicester City’s financial situation means the chances of appointing a manager currently in employment are slim. Mark Robins would be my top choice, but he is under contract with Stoke City until 2028.
With Andy King taking interim charge, the club has someone at the helm who truly understands its culture. Why not push that idea further? Nigel Pearson is available and remains a hugely popular figure among supporters.
The 62-year-old left Bristol City in 2023 and has not taken up another role since. During his first spell, he led Leicester to the League One title, before returning to guide them to the Premier League and masterminding the great escape.
He may not represent a long-term solution, but appointing him until the end of the season and perhaps offering him a role upstairs would not be a bad move. It’s an idea that would resonate with many fans.
Amie Wilson
Firstly, I believe it was the correct call to part company with Cifuentes. I do sympathise with him, as he was working under restrictions due to limited transfer funds, but the defeat to Oxford felt like the moment when the situation became irretrievable.
As for his successor, it is a tricky decision. While Andy King is a club icon, even an interim role may come too soon in his coaching journey.
It feels as though City need to turn to a more experienced, ‘Nigel Pearson’-type figure. Tony Mowbray could be a viable option for me – he brings experience and seems the sort of manager who would focus on the basics to grind out results and lift the club up the table. Whether he would be a long-term answer is less certain.
Given City’s current circumstances, it is difficult to imagine them prising a manager away from another club. If they are thinking longer term, Ralph Hasenhüttl could be a name worth considering.
Aaron Morris
While Russell Martin is among the bookmakers’ favourites to replace Marti Cifuentes at Leicester City, it is an appointment that raises more concerns than confidence. The 40-year-old was sacked by Rangers after just four months last year, and describing his tactics with the Scottish side as uninspiring would be generous.
The reality, in my view, is that options are extremely limited at this stage of the season, and many of the more experienced names seem to be linked more out of convenience than genuine likelihood. In an ideal scenario, someone like Ole Gunnar Solskjaer or Tony Pulis would arrive at the King Power Stadium, but that feels unrealistic.
If Leicester were not just six points off the play-off places, my instinct would be to give Andy King the remainder of the season. However, with so much still to play for, that would be a gamble.
For me, Tony Mowbray stands out as the ideal candidate – a manager who understands the demands of the Championship and has previously shown he can spark an impressive run of form in a short period of time.