Sacked by Nottingham Forest after 19 games in 2019, Martin O’Neill could now return to management at Premier League outfit Leicester City.
According to the Independent, the 71-year-old is in the sights of the Foxes who want to appoint a caretaker manager until the end of the season.
O’Neill was a shock appointment at the City Ground in 2019. He was tasked with reviving the club’s fortunes, following the sacking of Aitor Karanka.
Under his watchful eye, Forest regressed under O’Neill. The team fell way out of play-off contention, with his football proving archaic, dated and frankly very boring.
O’Neill arrived at Forest having not managed at club level for six years. That showed as he adopted an approach that made him look like the modern game had passed him by.
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In 19 games in charge of Forest, he won nine and lost nine, finishing with a win percentage of 42%. He was replaced by Sabri Lamouchi after one week of pre-season training ahead of 2019/20.
Leicester won’t be hasty with their new managerial appointment. They mutually agreed to part ways with Brendan Rodgers at the weekend and are eyeing a short-term fix.
O’Neill managed the Foxes for five years from 1995. He oversaw 223 games at the club, winning 85 of them and also leading them to two League Cup titles.
Sacked Nottingham Forest boss O’Neill could return to Leicester
This could be disastrous for Leicester. They’re two points adrift of safety already and desperately need to start picking up victories.
O’Neill doesn’t look like the answer. The football his team played at Forest was absolutely turgid and even victories felt like defeats.
Still, Leicester not choosing to appoint a big name could be ideal for Forest. They are fighting along with the Foxes to stay in the division and O’Neill is hardly a game-changer.