Leicestershire

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Former Leicester City winger Matt Piper believes the club's hierarchy are "struggling" to make a decision on Ruud van Nistelrooy, after the Dutchman revealed he is "still waiting" to have talks about his managerial future at King Power Stadium.

Speaking on the When You're Smiling podcast, Piper says he expected the club to have already initiated talks but doesn't think they should be "in any rush" to sack him before other important decisions have been made.

"What's probably going on is that people are pointing fingers at the hierarchy of the club and the club feel they cannot afford to get another big decision wrong," he explained. "They are probably panicking.

"I can't imagine Ruud being here next year. It's not that it just won't look good, it's that he has failed miserably.

"I don't think the club are leaning one way or another. I really think they are struggling with it because they cannot afford to get another decision wrong.

"This is why 'Top' needs to really look at his position first and think about whether this is still what he wants to do. Then the club can look at making changes or bringing in more support at boardroom level because things have been going drastically wrong for a while now.

"These are decisions that need to be in place first, then they can make a decision on the manager.

"I don't think they should be in any rush to sack Ruud. This has been a disastrous season so it isn't going to make much of a difference now if you leave him in post and give yourselves some thinking time over the summer.

"It is one big struggle at the football club at the minute. It's not just the guys on the pitch that are letting things down at Leicester at the minute, it's all the way through the club."

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Chris Forryan
Fan writer

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Dear Top,

Let met start by saying as a fan I am, and always will be grateful for what King Power, your late father, you and your family have done for my football club. You have allowed me to fulfil dreams that I never thought as a Leicester City fan I ever would.

Every business, though, has its peaks and troughs, and as a 64-year-old fan, believe you me, I have seen plenty of troughs. But it is how troughs are dealt with that businesses are judged by, and these days football clubs are businesses.

However, I have to say most businesses do not hold onto staff once that business starts to fail, no matter how successful they may have been in the past. Top, you really need to take charge and make changes or you risk ruining your family's legacy at the club.

Yes, you cleared a lot of debt for our club, but this is debt that was accrued under King Power ownership. A tally of 11 managers in 15 years of ownership speaks volumes.

There has been your chasing of Graham Potter, followed by what seemed a rushed appointment of Steve Cooper, the early sacking of Cooper - an appointment you publicly criticised - and the failure to act in sticking by Ruud van Nistelrooy, who has to be the worst manager in the clubs history.

How are Susan Whelan, John Rudkin, Martyn Glover et al still at the club? Yes they have helped you through some dark times but as a group of managers it appears you don't know what you're doing.

I am sorry Top, but a free bottle of beer at the final home game this season will not cut it.

The fans are the lifeblood of any club, and our relationship is being destroyed.

Open up and talk to the fans. We have no idea what is going on. Tell us.

Find more from Chris Forryan at Leicester Till I Die, external

Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport football news reporter

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Leicester midfielder Wilfred Ndidi is available for a £9m relegation release clause this summer.

The 28-year-old's clause was activated last weekend when the Foxes lost 1-0 to now-champions Liverpool and were relegated to the Championship with five games to go.

Leicester have since lost 3-0 away at Wolves and the Nigeria international is among several members of the squad now considering his future.

The Midlands club feel well placed to revamp the squad with release clauses rare at the King Power Stadium and only three players out of contract - goalkeepers Daniel Iversen and Danny Ward, along with legendary striker Jamie Vardy, who has announced he will leave Leicester after 13 glorious years at the club.

Ndidi, meanwhile, had interest from clubs like Marseille and Everton while available on a free transfer last summer.

However, Leicester managed to sign Ndidi to a new three-year deal last summer. He was signed in 2017 in a £17m deal from Genk, but the pressure from interested parties likely led to the inclusion of a release clause as part of his most recent deal.

Ndidi has won an FA Cup and the Championship last season while at Leicester and has played 27 times in all competitions during this campaign.

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Former Leicester City striker Matty Fryatt believes it is "going to take a lot" to turn things around at the club, with Ruud van Nistelrooy's side suffering another heavy defeat against Wolves just six days after their relegation back to the Championship was confirmed.

"I've said there was a gulf in class before, but there were oceans in this game," Fryatt told the When You're Smiling podcast. "They looked miles off it in terms of fight, spirit and everything you would want.

"It's not like all of a sudden there's going to be a wake-up call and these players are going to start playing. If that was ever going to be the case, why haven't they done it up until this point?

"I wasn't expecting a massive change but I at least thought there would be a bit more fight and determination. It was a resignation in terms of relegation - everyone had seen it coming for weeks leading up to it."

Leicester took the Championship by storm in 2023-24 but have not been able to transfer the positivity from that campaign into a Premier League survival bid.

"It's going to take a lot to turn this around," Fryatt said. "The Championship shouldn't be feared but there should be things in place to make sure they have got a good foundation. They are a long way from where they once were, but they can get back to that by making important decisions.

"A lot of it will depend on things financially because, for example, sacking two managers in one financial year is a huge hit - but something needs to be done.

"I didn't see anything in this performance that made me think Ruud is the right person to lead this team. Forget his illustrious playing career - he is an unproven manager and he has never been down at the bottom.

"The team looks soulless. They are lacking identity, style and fight."

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We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Wolves and Leicester City at Molineux.

Here are some of your replies:

Wolves fans

Sara: Wolves made Leicester look woeful. The fitness levels between the two teams were clear to see. There are happy people in Wolverhampton at last. Matheus Cunha was the standout - he just wants to please the fans! I hope he stays.

Steve: Cunha is going to be jumping off a ship sailing to much better times and joining the Titanic.

Cordelia: Thank you Vitor Pereira for coming to Wolves and giving our players the confidence to play and show off their skills. We always knew they were quality but now everyone can see it. Leicester fans - good luck next season.

Kieran: What a run. We need to buy Vitor lots of pints - what a turnaround! If we back this man in the summer, just think of what we could do.

Espirito: People are praising this team like they have beaten a team at the top of the table, but we have not. We should be beating teams like this to little fanfare and it just shows how far the club has fallen. We don't need nor want Cunha. Let another team deal with his attitude. The same goes for Jose Sa and Toti, otherwise we will be in this position again.

Leicester fans

Chris: We are 'using these games to prepare for next season' according to Ruud van Nistelrooy. So obviously picking loan player Facundo Buonanotte who definitely won't be with us next season and giving Jamie Vardy another 90 minutes when we know he is leaving makes perfect sense, right? The whole club is a joke. As for the performance, I don't think the players could have put less effort in if they tried. But not trying is a bit of a theme.

Nathan: Is this the worst and most unlikable Premier League team ever? Yes. A record-breakingly bad manager, a board that seems not to care, and players who seemingly cannot play the game. Can we just forfeit the remaining games because we will lose them all by at least three goals and will be unable to score?

Tom: One word: awful. From top to bottom, it's toxic. We need new owners, management, coaches and players. It is going to be a long few seasons with hard times and hard work to get the club stable at the least.

Christy: A club in all sorts of trouble. The manager appears to be clueless, the players nowhere near the standard required, the coaching staff do not seem to understand this standard and the people who run the club make far too many errors. They should really think about putting Leicester City up for sale.