Craig Shakespeare Appointed Leicester City Manager
- Leicester City confirm the appointment of Craig Shakespeare as First Team Manager
- Shakespeare has overseen First Team matters since February
- Former Assistant Manager signs three-year contract
- LCFC Vice Chairman praises Shakespeare’s leadership qualities
- Shakespeare pleased Club can proceed into the new season with certainty
Leicester City Football Club has reached agreement with Craig Shakespeare for his long-term appointment to the role of First Team Manager.
Craig, 53, has signed a three-year contract to remain in charge of First Team matters, having successfully assumed the responsibilities in February following the departure of Claudio Ranieri.
Leicester City Vice Chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha said: “Craig has shown all the qualities in leadership, motivation and talent management that are required to be successful in this role. Those qualities, aligned with his first class coaching acumen, his knowledge of Leicester City and its philosophy, and the respect he has earned at every level of the Club make him the ideal choice to help take us forward.
“Our primary objective for the coming years is to successfully translate the extraordinary experiences of the last two seasons into lessons that will strengthen and enhance the Club’s pursuit of its long-term vision of sustainable success. Continuity is among the key elements to making such a process work.
“Over the last nine years, Craig has built a unique insight into the catalysts for success at Leicester City, its impact on our personnel and the conditions needed to ensure its longevity.”
Craig Shakespeare said: “This is a really exciting opportunity for me to continue along this new path in my career and to continue to work with a club and a group of staff I’ve grown extremely close to. I’m grateful to the owners and the Board of Directors for their continued faith and support.
“Our preparations for pre-season and the new Premier League campaign have been on-going for some time, but we can now move on with certainty and ensure we are well equipped to compete at the levels now expected of a club like Leicester City.”
Having served as Assistant Manager for the previous five-and-a-half seasons under both Ranieri and his predecessor Nigel Pearson, Shakespeare took charge of Leicester City for the first time at the end of February – guiding the team to a 3-1 home win over Liverpool that proved the catalyst for a run of form that would rescue the Premier League champions from the threat of relegation.
The Foxes’ first win of 2017 was followed by a further four in succession, making Shakespeare the first British manager in Premier League history to win his first five matches in charge. It was a sequence that would effectively secure City’s top-flight status, though their final points total of 44 would see them finish the season in 12th position.
In addition to their commendable recovery in the league, City’s displays under Shakespeare would see the Foxes extend their adventure in the UEFA Champions League, negotiating a path to the quarter-finals – further than any other British team in the competition.
City’s new manager will begin his first full season in charge on the second weekend in August, with the Foxes’ opening-day Premier League opponents to be confirmed on Fixture Release Day on Wednesday 14 June.