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'Easy from afar' - no Foxes flak for Rowett comments

Gary Rowett has overseen draws at Stoke and Middlesbrough since taking charge of Leicester [Getty Images]

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 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."

Leicester owner and chairman Khun Aiyawatt 'Top' Srivaddhanaprabha told BBC Radio Leicester in January that he takes the blame for the club's dismal decline, which has included two Premier League relegations in three years.

Foxes fans have planned to again protest about Khun Top's ownership and the role of director of football Jon Rudkin at Saturday's match.

Rowett said being back at the club, where he featured as a player in the Premier League two decades ago, has given him greater perspective on Leicester's situation.

"Being in the building you get a different understanding of it," he said.

"It's always easy from afar, and certainly it's a much easier job being a pundit than it is being a football manager."

Former Millwall, Stoke, Derby County and Birmingham City boss Rowett took on his second relegation rescue mission in as many years when he took the Leicester job last week.

Last term he guided Oxford United to a 17th place finish after taking the job on when they were one point and two places above the drop zone in December 2024.

'Players not wasting energy on points appeal'

A six-point deduction for historical spending breaches has deepened Leicester's troubles near the bottom of the table, although the club is now appealing against the punishment.

When asked if he feels the ongoing legal battle will impact the side mentally, Rowett said: "We are where we are and we can't control certain things. For me, I think it's dangerous to let any outside noise affect how we feel and how we act.

"The day the appeal news came out I think I saw three or four players chatting to each other as they always do.

"And we had a meeting straight away in which we said 'lads, listen, let's not start getting bogged down and distracted by thinking about how we solve those things. Let other people get on with it and we do what we need to do, which is out on the green stuff'.

"They have been clear on that, and I don't think they have wasted too much energy on that [the deduction or appeal]."

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