Gary Rowett: Leicester City boss addresses past criticism of Foxes management

Manager Gary Rowett says he has not had to clear the air with Leicester City’s hierarchy about criticism he aimed their way just weeks before his appointment.

The 51-year-old was working as a Sky Sports pundit earlier in February when he blamed “very, very poor management” on the Foxes’ fall, external from winning the Premier League title in 2016 to battling to avoid relegation to League One a decade later.

Rowett was being quizzed about the vacancy and how attractive the job could be when he said: “I think the next step for Leicester has to be the right step for them because you can’t go from winning the Premier League to being in League One in a matter of a few seasons, that is very, very poor management.”

Eleven days later, Rowett was named as Leicester’s new boss, replacing Marti Cifuentes after interim manager Andy King had overseen four successive defeats across all competitions.

While Rowett has since guided the Foxes to morale-boosting back-to-back away draws in his first two matches, the results have not been enough to propel them out of the relegation zone.

Before his first home game in charge against Norwich on Saturday, Rowett was asked about what he said as a TV pundit and what reaction it got from those at the club.

“For me it was more of a generic thing that when you see the team and, I’m sure everyone would potentially agree here, when you see a team winning the Premier League and where we are right now at this moment, of course without connecting the dots you say, how has that happened?” he told BBC East Midlands Today.

“It was more a generic comment rather than about individuals really. I haven’t had to clarify that and think people will see it for what it is and we move forward.”