8 candidates amid Russell Martin sack pressure
The heat is rising on Russell Martin as Leicester City manager after a 4-0 thumping at home to Oxford United on Saturday.
Martin was only appointed by Leicester in the summer, but winning just one of their first five games in League One is a horrific start for a club that were in the Premier League two years ago.
And just last year, Martin was sacked by Rangers just a few months after being appointed. Could a similar fate await him?
Perhaps so. The ‘sacked in the morning’ chants have been heard already. Ouch.
But if Martin is axed, where on earth do Leicester turn from here?
Their stay in League One is supposed to be short-lived, but the early evidence is that this will be no walk in the park. Maybe it’s just Martin’s tactics, or maybe they do have their work cut out for them.
It doesn’t help that the season has only just got underway and most managers worth their salt are already in other jobs, but the pool of options Leicester would have to pick from is going to look drastically different to if they’d been changing managers five years ago, for instance.
Here are some names we wouldn’t be surprised to see linked with Leicester if Martin is sent packing.
Darren Ferguson
Before they gave the reins to Martin, Ferguson was among the favourites for the Leicester job after their relegation from the Championship.
Did they make the wrong choice? If they decide so, they still have a chance to change their minds, with Ferguson remaining out of work.
He’s well versed in League One management, with more than 450 games overseen at that level and three promotions gained.
And if he was to take Leicester up, he could lean back on 185 games’ worth of experience in the Championship too.
Ferguson has been out of work since Peterborough United sacked him last October, bringing an end to his fourth spell there.
Scott Parker
Parker is a manager who would have to swallow some pride to drop down to League One, but Leicester are a big club for that level.
He left Burnley in April after their relegation from the Premier League was confirmed.
A decent manager at Championship level with the right resources, he has never stooped as low as the third tier, but has a reputation to rebuild on the touchline and will have to start from somewhere.
Expect to see him among the bookies’ favourites if Martin is fired.
Christian Fuchs
Of the Leicester squad that won the Premier League a decade ago, only Fuchs has since had a stint as a full-time manager of an EFL club.
His time with League Two side Newport County wasn’t brilliant, but if he fancies another crack at management, he could be a vibes-based appointment for the Foxes.
Just as long as it doesn’t get in the way of his blossoming local cricket career.
Conor Hourihane
The easiest choice if Leicester look within for a Martin replacement would be Hourihane.
The former Barnsley boss joined Leicester as their new assistant manager in June, despite having experience as a League One manager in his own right.
It’s too early in the season for Leicester to be thinking about an interim replacement for Martin, but Hourihane has reasonable credentials to step up into the hotseat.
Andy King
If not, the other option from within could be King – one of Fuchs’ teammates from that 2015-16 team.
King served as Leicester’s interim manager when Marti Cifuentes was sacked earlier this year, and could be the kind of club man that Leicester need to galvanise them.
The 37-year-old hasn’t been a permanent manager anywhere yet at senior level, though, so it would be a leap of faith to hand him the reins.
Dave Challinor
Challinor is currently out of work after establishing himself as one of the most promising managers in the EFL.
A serial promotion winner, dating back to his time in non-league, Challinor took Stockport County from the National League into League One.
They finished third last season before losing the play-off final to Bolton Wanderers, after which Challinor bowed out.
Across his managerial career, Challinor has never finished outside the play-off places, whichever league he has been in, when he’s led a club over a full season.
The play-offs should be the bare minimum expectation for Leicester, who could be the right club at the right time for the 50-year-old to test himself again.
Nigel Pearson
Should Leicester prefer to revert to the tried and tested, Pearson might be available for a third spell at the club.
Now 63, Pearson hasn’t managed since he left Bristol City in 2023. He won League One in his first spell with Leicester, and the Championship in his second.
This would be a short-term appointment, but if inside knowledge of the club is important, Pearson ticks a box.
And what more do Leicester need right now than someone to accuse a journalist of being an ostrich? Run it back.
Sean Dyche
If it’s back to basics Leicester are after, with Martin’s possession-based tactics the polar opposite, Dyche might be the man.
He’s only ever managed in the Premier League and the Championship, and it’s been 10 years since he was last in the second tier.
But Dyche is available after his Nottingham Forest sacking earlier this year. After being linked with Leicester lots over the years, now could be the time.
It would be one of the most high-profile appointments Leicester could make, and might get them functioning again.
But it’s debateable if Dyche would be up for it, given his pedigree in management and apparent current focus on being an Instagram influencer.
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