Leicester players feeling 'raw' following Craig Shakespeare sacking, admits Michael Appleton

Caretaker manager Michael Appleton admits the mood in Leicester City dressing room is "raw" following the departure of Craig Shakespeare.

After just four months as permanent boss of the Foxes, Shakespeare was sacked on Tuesday with Leicester 18th in the table, following one Premier League win from eight games.

Shakespeare had assisted Claudio Ranieri during the Premier League title triumph in 2015-16 and then succeeded him, at first on a caretaker basis in February, before signing a three-year contract to take the job permanently in June.

The popular coach won his first six matches in charge but Leicester have struggled this season and Shakespeare paid the price.

When asked how the players are feeling about the decision, Appleton said: "Like anyone obviously, the initial feeling was probably surprise. Having spoken to the players today, they are obviously a bit raw as you can imagine.

"They have lost a manager that they obviously respected highly and liked as a person - not just as a manager and coach.

"But the old adage 'nothing surprises you in football' is a phrase that gets used quite often.

"Only two or three days ago I was doing an interview and I mentioned how highly respected he was by all the staff and players at the football club.

"He has been here a long time and obviously he has done a lot of roles. He is a top, top guy."

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When announcing the decision to move on from Shakespeare, Leicester City vice-chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha explained "our early promise under Craig's management has not been consistently evident in the months since".

The Foxes spent around £60m on new players in the summer, including £25m on striker Kelechi Iheanacho and £15m on Sevilla's skipper Vincent Iborra.

Shakespeare's sacking appeared to reinforce the high expectations Leicester's owners have for the club but Appleton warned league positions can be deceiving given the parity that exists in the Premier League outside of the top-six clubs.

"You have only got to look at last season," Appleton said. "I think it was Southampton who finished eighth last year on 46 points and I think it was Watford who finished 17th on 40 points. So between 10 teams you are talking about a six-point difference.

"The difference between finishing in the top eight or just staying up by the skin of your teeth is six points.

"I don't see that changing this year."

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Appleton spent three seasons in charge of Oxford United prior to joining Leicester as Shakespeare's assistant in June.

But when asked if he is keen to jump back into management by replacing Shakespeare, Appleton declined to put his name forward, insisting his sole focus is preparing for Saturday's trip to Swansea.

"It is a situation for me where - and I have made this clear to the powers that be - I signed a contract in the summer to be the assistant manager of Leicester City and I would love to honour that contract given the opportunity," Appleton added.

"But that is completely out of my control so my full focus is making sure I pick the right team for Saturday.

"Hopefully with a little bit of luck and a little bit of quality we can win the game."