Russell Martin appears to have now completed his Leicester City backroom staff following his arrival at King Power Stadium approximately two weeks ago. Since then, the former Scotland national team representative (and yes, he really did play for the Tartan Army team) has steadily, and in some respects abruptly, set about improving the fitness levels of what had become a flailing LCFC roster.
The Blue Army, in spite of severe and long-held reservations regarding Martin in particular along with direction and decision-making at the club, deeply appreciate the manner in which Martin is working the squad to restore their sharpness and rekindle their passion for football.
Indeed, this assessment may seem unforgiving. But such bluntness stems from how the recent actions of the modern Foxes group, and their often opaque superiors in the boardroom, have made even loyal supporters question their own continued involvement with the sport - and even the club itself.
Clear signs of that disillusionment have been visible: certain supporters decided not to renew their season tickets. Others choose to stay away from matches at Filbert Way altogether as frustration mounted in recent times.
Leicester City news and rumour
Turning back to Martin, however, and the slightly ironic but genuine flicker of minimal optimism he is beginning to generate, he now has a key piece of his coaching structure in place with the appointment of a new First Team Goalkeeping Coach. Tom Weal has arrived at LCFC following his exit from MK Dons, a club where Martin previously held a managerial role, and the connection between the two is clearly one that has helped bring him to the East Midlands.
Described as "vastly experienced" within his specialist field, Weal's career path includes previous coaching roles at a number of notable EFL and higher-tier sides. With Huddersfield Town, Nottingham Forest, Norwich City, Carlisle United, Notts County and Sunderland all listed among his former employers.
"Weal arrives from MK Dons, where he has been part of the coaching staff at Stadium MK, and joins Conor Hourihane and Rhys Owen"lcfc.com
In addition to the off-field strengthening of backroom staff, transfer speculation suggests the Leicestershire outfit will soon aim to address a clear gap in their playing squad by moving to acquire a much-needed new striker. Mikael Mandron is said to be among the names under consideration, a situation that comes into particularly sharp focus given that the Foxes currently have no established senior centre forwards registered amongst their professional ranks.
Mandron is currently available as a free agent, having officially left St Mirren earlier this summer after reportedly declining an offer of a fresh contract to remain with the Scottish side. The French forward is not short of interest south of the border either as Charlton Athletic apparently monitor his situation as they weigh up potential attacking additions of their own.
"Leicester City and Charlton Athletic are among the clubs eyeing a move for striker Mikael Mandron, who is a free agent after leaving St Mirren. (Peter O'Rourke on X)"AOL.com
Although, it is worth noting that the origins of this link can seemingly be traced to reporting from football journalist Peter O'Rourke at Football Insider. The validity of the rumour remains open to question until formal moves are confirmed by either party or Leicester.
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