Steve Cooper has pledged to make Leicester City an established Premier League force again after the former Nottingham Forest manager was appointed to oversee what could be a difficult first season back in the top division, reports telegraph.co.uk.
Cooper, 44, has been appointed by the club to succeed Enzo Maresca, who led Leicester to promotion and then left for Chelsea.
Cooper was dismissed by Forest in December and was the first-choice of the Leicester owner Aiyawatt “Top” Srivaddhanaprabha as well as sporting director Jon Rudkin – the two key figures at the club.
A club accustomed to stability under the Srivaddhanaprabha family, Leicester have given Cooper a contract until 2027 and the title of first team manager. Although with profitability and sustainability rules (PSR) charges from the Premier League hanging over the club – and a points deduction– it is a far from simple task.
Cooper made his name in club football at Swansea City and then Forest whom he took from the very bottom of the Championship to victory in the play-off final in May 2022. He then kept them in the Premier League with a game to spare the following season despite unprecedented change in the squad and 23 first-team signings in the summer of 2022 alone.
He twice took Swansea to the Championship play-offs, losing in the 2021 final to Brentford.
In an open letter to fans, Cooper paid tribute to the club’s successes of the last decade, the miraculous 2016 Premier League title and the 2021 FA Cup triumph. He hinted at the difficulties that may well face Leicester, winners of the Championship but now fighting the Premier League over PSR. “Great challenges lie ahead,” he said,
“but I get the feeling that Leicester thrives in these moments. I know we will be ready.
“The work starts now on building towards a successful Premier League season. Our aim is to once again make Leicester City an established Premier League club, and one that can look forward to the future with pride and ambition.”
Cooper said that the first challenge was “to show to our fans that we are ready to adapt to the new level after a season in the Championship”. He said: “I know that my experience will be valuable in helping that evolution, with an excellent group of players working from one of the best training grounds in the world.”
The great Leicester veteran striker Jamie Vardy, 37, has signed up for another season, and now the club will have to try to trade players to reduce potential losses while making the squad competitive in the Premier League. Among those they would like to sign will be Ghana international Abdul Fatawu, 20, who had a successful season on loan from Sporting of Lisbon in the Championship last season.
