Tuesday 17 October 2017 17:02, UK
Jamie Carragher believes Craig Shakespeare's sacking was "harsh" - but says it reflects the ruthless nature of Leicester City's owners.
Shakespeare was named as the club's permanent manager in June, after steering the club to Premier League safety and into the Champions League quarter-finals as caretaker manager in the second half of last season, following Claudio Ranieri's dismissal in February.
However, after just one win in eight Premier League games this term and with Leicester third from bottom in the Premier League, Shakespeare has been fired himself.
Sky Sports pundit Carragher, who analysed Leicester's 1-1 draw with West Brom on Monday Night Football, says the decision highlights the fear owners have of relegation from the top flight.
"It shows how ruthless the owners are at Leicester," he said. "I'm not saying that's a good thing or a bad thing but that's the way they run the club. They were quite ruthless with Nigel Pearson and then Claudio Ranieri and now Shakespeare.
"I think it's a little bit harsh really, considering what he did at the end of last season. There were lots of people talking about them going down so he seemed to rescue them from that, with a great record and did well in the Champions League.
"This season it's been a difficult start but they've had some really tough games. It just shows there's that much money in the Premier League that no one is willing to give anyone any time, whether that's a manager to a young player or an owner to a manager. There's too much at stake.
"And even though they've had tough games they haven't won the games which, maybe on paper, you'd have expected them to have won. West Brom was one of them but the Premier League is a very difficult league no matter who you're playing against.
"It's harsh but maybe in the current climate it's not. For a manager, if you go six or seven games without a win your job is in danger. Craig Shakespeare can't complain too much because you could argue he got the job on a harsh dismissal of Ranieri."
Carragher believes the Leicester owners moved early in a bid to give themselves the best possible chance of finding a suitable replacement.
And he says Shakespeare's successor must boost the players' confidence and find a way to get star men Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez back on form if they are to move away from the danger zone.
"It comes down to a fear from clubs of relegation, even at this early stage," he said. "They're prepared to take the risk of paying a manager off and paying someone else to come in because the risk is worth it because there's that much money involved.
"Clubs may think other clubs may change their manager soon, so why not be the first to do it, and then they've got more options and choice for who to bring in.
"In terms of what the next manager has to do, it obviously looks like there's a lack of confidence there. Mahrez got the goal on Monday night but he and Vardy, if you get them two firing, they're the two standout players.
"Yes, they've sold players in Danny Drinkwater and N'Golo Kante, who were essential in that title-winning season, but realistically Leicester are in their fourth season up now and they've had one season winning the league - which was the greatest story we've ever seen in football - but the other seasons they've been there or thereabouts fighting relegation.
"That is more the norm for Leicester. However, if you have players of the quality of Vardy and Mahrez, if they perform to anywhere close to what you expect, that should be enough on its own to take them away from the danger. So that will be vital, getting them back on top form."
