Craig Shakespeare expected to be named Leicester City manager for the rest of the season

Since the sudden sacking of Claudio Ranieri, all of the questions surrounding Leicester City have largely been replaced by one: who will replace him? For the short term at least, we seem to have our answer and, as you all could have guessed, my suggestions were all wrong.

You couldn’t say the decision wasn't earned. Shakespeare took control of the team immediately following Ranieri’s sacking and they’ve turned around their fortunes right away, picking up a huge win over Liverpool, then following it up with another strong performance to beat Hull City.

While his strengths in building squad confidence and unity appear to have come to the fore again, his good relationship with the players is not all he brings to the table. The longtime assistant enjoys joining his team out on the training pitch and is a highly thought of coach, earning a place with the England squad during Sam Allardyce’s ill fated spell.

Shakespeare is a hugely popular figure at the club, having been present throughout the up and down (but mostly up) tenure of Nigel Pearson, as well as the great times that followed under his Italian successor. He’s not just popular with the players though and appears to have retained the support of the fans. Of course, winning games will do that pretty quickly.

Others were in the running for the job and, with the announcement not yet made, just about still are. The owners appeared to want former England manager Roy Hodgson early on, but are expected to meet with Shakespeare tomorrow to discuss terms on the manager position.

The decision seems like the obvious one at this point. He’s popular, he’s getting results and there really wouldn’t be time for a new man to implement changes anyway. This is only a short term deal and I’d expect it to be re-evaluated in the summer when more candidates will be available and viable, but for now, Shakespeare has absolutely earned the job and is the right man to lead the Foxes for the remainder of the season.

Just don't listen to Chris Sutton, who was adamant we would fall apart and not win the league in April last year. You’d think he wouldn't be able to make himself look less intelligent, but every time he opens his mouth he seems to achieve it.