Sacked boss Craig Shakespeare has thanked Leicester City's owners for being given the chance to manage the club, backing his former side to "pull away" from relegation danger with a new man at the helm.
Foxes chiefs took the surprise decision to part company with the popular 53-year-old on Tuesday afternoon, four months after handing him the position on a permanent basis.
Shakespeare won half of his 16 games in temporary charge last season after replacing Claudio Ranieri in February, doing enough to win over the Srivaddhanaprabha family for a crack at the job full time.
A disappointing start to the 2017-18 campaign, however, including just one win from eight in the Premier League, proved enough to see the ex-England assistant lose his job with his side in the bottom three.
Speaking publicly for the first time since his sacking, Shakespeare said in a statement through the League Managers' Association: "I would like to thank the owners and board of Leicester City for giving me the opportunity to manage this fantastic club. My sincere thanks also to the players, who have always been a pleasure to work with.
"I have every confidence that, given time and once at full-strength, this squad will pull away from its current Premier League position and soon deliver the high levels of performance they have demonstrated over the past three seasons. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with my coaching staff and the staff throughout the club, who I thank for their hard work and support.
"I will always have such special memories, both on and off the pitch, from my two spells working for Leicester City. Memories which I have shared with the club's outstanding fans. I would like to thank each of them for their support, especially in the past six months as I have made the transition into management. Finally, I'd like to wish Leicester City every success for the future, as I move on to the next challenge in my career."
Sam Allardyce has already ruled himself out of the job, while Alan Pardew, Chris Coleman and Sean Dyche are among the bookmakers' current favourites to take charge at the King Power Stadium.
Daniel Lewis
