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Gary Rowett could be prepared to give this Leicester reserve figure a chance against Swansea

Gary Rowett could be prepared to give this Leicester City reserve figure more of a runout, as Swansea City come to town.
Leicester City v Preston North End - Sky Bet Championship
Leicester City v Preston North End - Sky Bet Championship | Plumb Images/GettyImages

Gary Rowett must start living up to his reputation as an experienced manager, who knows how to get teams out of crisis, very soon, or Leicester City will slip to League One under his watch.

He managed to keep Oxford United up last season, against all the odds, with nine wins collected from 25 games, but he has failed to slip into being the same heroic figure at the King Power.

Only one sorry victory remains next to his name, from his opening nine games at the Leicester helm, with the 52-year-old no doubt kept up at night by the prospect of sending the Foxes down, having previously called Leicester home as a player, too.

Perhaps, the team he has taken on are too long gone in terms of mentality, to try and put together a convincing fight.

He could make a few changes here and there to his first team personnel, though, to try and pick up a rare win on the weekend, as Swansea City, who are stuck in mid-table mediocrity, come to the King Power.

The changes Rowett could make to inspire rare win

Rowett could well decide to throw in Jordan Ayew from the start, after the ageing striker put in an unusually electric performance against Sheffield Wednesday.

The often scapegoated attacker would smash home the equaliser emphatically at Hillsborough, with the 34-year-old forward nearly getting on the scoresheet again, from his short, but very sweet stint, when a last-gasp header was palmed away dramatically by Pierce Charles.

Rowett could decide to throw in Ayew from the start in the number ten role, as Jordan James is likely to remain sidelined through injury, with Ayew and Patson Daka's connection up top perhaps too much for the Swans to handle.

Moreover, Rowett could be trying to work out - in the build-up to this clash back on Leicester's home patch - how to reinstate Jannik Vestergaard into his first-team set-up, as the battling nature of the lofty Dane could help the Foxes to another win.

While the expected route for Rowett to take in the attacking positions is to add Ayew into the first-team fold, he also has this alternate weapon up his sleeve up top, who might well shine in games to come, if handed more opportunities.

Rowett might be prepared to give this reserve figure more chances

Dujuan Richards has been sparingly utilised, since making a loan move from Chelsea a reality in January, but the young Jamaican forward might be about to receive more regular first-team chances, if Rowett is willing to roll the dice more.

So far, he has only participated in 35 minutes of football at Leicester, since leaving his boyhood employers behind, which just isn't enough for the number 12 to leave a lasting mark on games.

He did look robust and strong during the latter stages of the draw at Hillsborough, though, with one duel confidently won, alongside one successful dribble being pulled off.

Firing a solitary effort at Charles as well, it was a performance that felt as if Richards was trying to show his manager that he's deserving of more regular minutes, so he can play a more clearly defined role in Leicester staying up.

He is inexperienced and far from the finished article, but with Ayew and Daka known to be prone to an off-display here and there, handing Richards more minutes - than just a brief showing on occasion - could well prove to be a masterstroke, in offering the goal-shy Foxes something different, in their moment of need.

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