Leicester City legend Martin O’Neill insists that he did not hold talks about taking over the Premier League strugglers before Dean Smith replaced Brendan Rodgers on a short-term deal.
It is no secret that Dean Smith was not exactly Leicester’s number one choice.
The former Aston Villa, Brentford and Norwich City boss signed a contract until the end of the season on Monday. That, however, was only after Graham Potter rebuffed Leicester’s advances, and talks with ex-Leeds coach Jesse Marsch broke down.
Leicester City hire Dean Smith as replacement for Brendan Rodgers
The Independent claim that the 2021 FA Cup and Community Shield winners also considered bringing 71-year-old O’Neill back to familiar surroundings.
The veteran Irishman spent five years at the helm from 1995 to 2000, guiding the Foxes to Premier League promotion, two League Cup titles and a spot in the UEFA Cup.
But, in conversation with talkSPORT (14 April, 9am), the iconic Celtic manager insists that he did not hold any talks with the decision makers at the King Power Stadium.
“No, there wasn’t any contact,” O’Neill explains.
Graham Potter, a man 24 years O’Neill’s junior, was sounded out shortly after his sacking at Chelsea. The former Brighton boss will take a sabbatical before returning to the dugout, however, The Athletic indicating that Leicester may come calling again once Smith’s deal expires at the end of May.
“I think their first port of call was Graham Potter,” O’Neil adds. “That would have been really strange. Potter’s head would have been in a spin immediately after leaving Chelsea.
“It would have been really difficult.”
Leicester take on Manchester City this weekend
Talk about a difficult start.
Leicester’s trip to Manchester City this weekend, as far as Smith is concerned, is not so much a case of being thrown in at the deep end. More chucked headfirst into a shark infested ocean with only a raft made out of rare steak for company.
“The points are there to be won, to grab, to get out of the bottom three. It’s been a season I’ve not seen before in terms of nine teams involved in the relegation battle. The more we can keep in that, it’s not insurmountable to get out,” Smith tells the Leicester Mercury.
“We’ve lost seven out of the last eight games, so confidence isn’t going to be high. I was 80-20 to take the job. But I probably went down to 50-50 after watching the Bournemouth game (that 1-0 defeat last week)!
“I felt they just needed a lift. I felt confident we could do that. We’ve seen great enthusiasm. We’re trying to put smiles on the faces, and that should lift their confidence very quickly.
“(Staying beyond this summer) is not a conversation we’ve had. It’s an interim job. I was watching the Masters in August last week and now I’m back to England. I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
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