Leicester City are on the brink of sacking Martí Cifuentes after dropping to 14th in the Championship. Leicester are to hold crunch boardroom talks on Sunday to determine the manager’s future.
Leicester slumped to a humiliating home defeat against struggling Oxford United on Saturday and have won one of their past five matches.
Leicester appointed Cifuentes on a three-year contract last summer with designs on an instant return to the Premier League but have failed to establish themselves as promotion contenders. Leicester are thought to have lost faith in the Spaniard, who spent the previous two seasons at QPR.
Leicester’s owner, Aiyawatt “Top” Srivaddhanaprabha, attended Saturday’s defeat at the King Power Stadium, during which supporters chanted against Cifuentes and also the club’s hierarchy. Fans have grown disillusioned with the ownership after being relegated from the Premier League in 2022-23. The director of football, Jon Rudkin, is under fierce scrutiny.
After the defeat by Oxford, Cifuentes said: “It’s not a pleasant situation as a manager and as a person because you want to do well for them and it’s sad that they feel this way. At the same time, I know football is about results. At the moment, there’s a number of fans who are not happy with a lot of things. But as the manager you need to be accountable and responsible.”
Leicester are hamstrung by profitability and sustainability regulations and face a points deduction this season for allegedly breaching rules. Leicester are limited to signing loan players before the transfer deadline on Monday 2 February.
The Foxes are without a clean sheet in 23 league games and have struggled to find consistency. Leicester return to league action at home to Charlton next Saturday.