Leicester City have found a successor to the recently-sacked Brendan Rodgers – and it’s Dean Smith. The former Aston Villa and Leicester tactician has been given a short-term deal until the end of the season to try and keep the 2015 Premier League winners from dropping into the Championship.Along with the 52-year-old Smith arrives his trusty assistant and a far more familiar face to English football lovers – John Terry. The legendary Chelsea and England captain was a part of Smith’s coaching staff at Villa between 2018 and 2021 but left the club before what turned out to be Smith’s last season at Villa Park. Now the dynamic duo is back together.Cuándo el entrenador y su asistente están en total sincronía 😂Que tal Dean Smith y John Terry 💯pic.twitter.com/m9iSb9pGnC— Gaby Bibayoff (@GabyBibayoff) September 5, 2020 This will be Smith’s third job in the Premier League after he joined Norwich a short time after leaving Villa in November 2019 – and Terry will join him again as an assistant after he decided against going solo to become someone’s head coach. Instead, the 42-year-old former defender will continue to brush up on his skills as Smith’s right-hand man and serve as the link between the players and the coaching team.Dean Smith was hired ahead of former Leeds head coach Jesse Marsch, who seemed to be the favourite to land the gig. But Leicester decided to get in a man who probably needs less adjusting to the club. Smith’s record with Villa was encouraging. There, he arrived to save the Villans when they were seven points adrift of safety with just four games remaining in 2020. However, he left Birmingham in November of the following year after the results turned worse – and he went to Norwich to repeat the trick and stave off relegation. That time, however, he failed and dropped down into the Championship along with the Canaries.##NAJAVA_MECA_7171739##At the King Power Stadium, Smith will strive to build Leicester’s self-confidence as quickly as possible. Their first task couldn’t be more challenging – a trip to Etihad Stadium to face the title-chasing Manchester City. After the tough test at the champions, the Foxes will have a run of three so-called winnable games against Wolves, Leeds and Everton. They must search for points in each of those games.”I’m really happy to have the opportunity to lead the team during these final weeks of the season. The challenge in front of us is clear, but it’s one myself and my coaching team have experienced before and, with the quality in this squad and the number of games remaining, it’s very much achievable. Our first job is to rebuild confidence and instil belief in the team, and I’m looking forward to getting to work with the players. Saturday will be a big test, but it’s the kind of occasion that reminds us all what it means to be a Premier League club.”
Smith’s arrival also sees the return of Craig Shakespeare to the Leicester City dugout. An assistant under both Nigel Pearson and Claudio Ranieri in previous spells with the Foxes, Craig led the club in 2017, successfully seeing off the threat of relegation and leading the team into the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals. This time, remaining in the EPL is their only goal.