Leicester owners slammed for Cooper treatment - 'no manager should go there'

Simon Jordan has warned potential candidates to stay away from the vacant managerial role at Leicester City if the owners are in contact with players to undermine them.

Steve Cooper was sacked by The Foxes on Sunday (24 November), with the club 16th in the Premier League and one point clear of the relegation zone following Saturday’s defeat to Chelsea.

Football Insider reported in the wake of the dismissal that senior members of the club’s board entered the dressing room to assess the mood of the players after that loss, with many critical of the 44-year-old.

Jordan though, believes that should put other managers off taking over at Leicester. Speaking on talkSPORT, the former Crystal Palace owner and chairman said: “If you’ve got owners walking in that dressing room, having conversations with players about their moods, and then taking that further by having dialogue with them, I think that’s fundamentally and utterly wrong.”

After Martin Keown then asked if the players are too close to the owners, Jordan continued:

“I think it’s the owner’s responsibility to put the distance. If the owner allows access to himself, no manager should really want to work in that environment.

“I’m a great believer in that they’re my employees, I should be able to speak to who I want. But my relationship is with the manager. If I indulge in players having a direct relationship with me, I’m undermining the manager, I’m allowing a fissure to develop, and I’m allowing back-channelling which should not happen. My champion should be my manager.”

Leicester manager candidates may be concerned by owner revelations

Football Insider Opinion

It does feel as though the presence of the owners in the dressing room could put potential candidates off making a move to the King Power Stadium if there is a risk of them being bypassed by their bosses.

Ultimately, it is a manager’s job to control the first-team squad, and make the decisions that are going to dictate who players play.

But if there is a relationship between the squad and the owners above the manager’s head, then it could be hard for them to maintain authority if players feel they can go over his head.

That seems to be the case at Leicester, which could mean managers are more reluctant to put their neck on the line by taking on this particular role.

The likes of Graham Potter have been linked with a move to the Foxes, and he would be a solid option to take over and potentially guide the club to safety.

It would therefore be a blow for Leicester to miss out on such an appointment due to the involvement of the owners in the dressing room, so it will be interesting to see if that approach now changes.

The club missed out on the former Chelsea and Brighton boss once and might fancy their chances the second time around now that a key sticking point has been removed, but the manner of Cooper’s dismissal might have just put an even bigger one in the way.

In other news, Gary Lineker has revealed who he wants to see become the new Leicester manager.

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