Shakespeare stakes his claim for taking the Leicester job long term

Shakespeare stakes his claim for taking the Leicester job long term [ad_1]

Craig Shakespeare gave his reaction to Leicester's narrow defeat at Manchester City.

Leicester City and Tottenham have nothing to play for, giving their Thursday night Premier League fixture a strange feel.

Spurs may rest a few players with the season winding down and that could play into the Foxes' hands, who will want to win to push for a top half finish and ensure Craig Shakespeare gets the job beyond the end of the season.

Whatever the result that's a pretty likely scenario, but a win again Spurs will virtually seal the deal for Shakespeare.

Leicester have a home game against Bournemouth to follow so will be confident of getting maximum points and in doing so protect Shakespeare's unbeaten home record since replacing the sacked Claudio Ranieri.

At the start of the season, the idea of midtable mediocrity and a Champions League run would have been gladly taken, so despite flirting with relegation the Foxes are where they should and wanted to be last summer.

Part of the turn around in fortunes is down to the form of Jamie Vardy since Shakespeare took charge, but the leadership and quality of Kasper Schmeichel at the other end must not be discounted and was recognised midweek at the club's award ceremony when the Dane was voted both the players' and fans' player of the year.

Plenty of Premier League clubs will be chasing Schmeichel's signature this summer, but he's a loyal character who may not have aspirations to leave the King Power.

Schmeichel has always been tetchy about being compared to his father so a move to Manchester United seems unlikely. Liverpool are certainly in a market for a keeper, but Leicester's owners will be desperate to hang to this season's star performer.

Schmeichel will probably feature against Spurs, although Shakespeare may decide to give a run-out to Robert-Ron Zieler as part of a number of changes.

Craig Shakespeare has impressed at Leicester after replacing Claudio Ranieri.

Ben Chilwell should feature in some capacity and Demarai Gray may also come back into the fold. In fact, the lineups may not be too different to when the teams met in the FA Cup third round last season -- a fixture that was drawn 2-2 at the King Power and Spurs went on to win 2-0 at White Hart Lane.

Whatever XI Shakespeare starts, if they play with the same hunger and energy as in the 2-1 loss at Manchester City last time out, the Foxes will take something from the game.

Leicester proved they can still cut it with the Premier League's best and despite the loss look set to end the campaign in Champions League form. In fact, prior to the City game, Shakespeare had taken more points since taking the job than any other manager except Mauricio Pochettino.

Shakespeare was seen as the perfect stop gap following the sacking of Ranieri, but he has quickly won over the fans, dressing room and media, all of whom now see him as a long-term option for Leicester.

It's rare than an assistant steps into the limelight and succeeds, especially in a cut-throat Premier League that demands instant success and experienced names.

It's refreshing to see a less heralded name being given a chance and as unpopular as Ranieri's sacking was, getting rid of Shakespeare now would seem even stupider.

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