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This former Leicester boss is in the running for a big international job

This ex-Leicester City boss finds himself in the running for a big international job despite an underwhelming King Power stint.
Leicester City FC v Chelsea FC - Premier League
Leicester City FC v Chelsea FC - Premier League | Michael Regan/GettyImages

Russell Martin has now been in the Leicester hot seat for over a week as the Foxes' long hunt for a new manager to replace Gary Rowett is finally over.

Not much has taken place since he was handed the reins, but the wheels are surely in motion at the moment for the League One giants to make some alterations to their playing squad, ahead of the first round of third-tier matches hitting the calendar in August.

Martin will just be glad he's managed to land himself another job, after his sobering experience in Scotland with Rangers, with the 40-year-old immediately steering the Foxes to promotion, silencing any vocal doubters.

Steve Cooper remains unemployed for the time being, as another manager who has experienced some damaging stints in the beautiful game recently, with his last two jobs - including his Leicester reign - failing to ever really kick into gear.

Cooper's dented reputation as a manager

At one stage during his lengthy coaching career, the Welshman was viewed as a safe pair of hands.

In charge of both Swansea City and Nottingham Forest in the Championship, the now out-of-work manager would regularly have the Swans and the Tricky Trees in promotion contention.

In 2022, he would even realise Forest's long-awaited promotion dreams by guiding Leicester's near neighbours back into the big time, immortalising his name in the history of the City Ground club forever.

Unfortunately for Cooper, he has flopped ever since walking away from Forest, with only four wins in charge of the Foxes, seeing him be dismissed from his Premier League job post after just 15 matches.

In all fairness, Ruud Van Nistelrooy didn't fare much better after him, with the Leicester dug-out - at the time - a poison chalice.

Branching out to Sweden to manage Brondby didn't work in his favour, either, as a lacklustre ten wins from 28 games at that helm also saw him be handed his marching orders.

Cooper is crying out for someone to take a chance on him, like Leicester have handed to Martin who has had his own managerial reputation dragged through the mud, and he could be gifted a chance to manage on the international stage surprisingly...

He could still land this big international job

Reports are suggesting, despite two underwhelming managerial stints in a row, that Cooper is in the running to be the next Wales boss.

This would be a proud moment for the 46-year-old, who hails from Pontypridd, with the Dragons writing up a list of targets, as Craig Bellamy continues to be linked with the Burnley vacancy.

Cooper is noted as being a 'leading candidate', which will surprise Leicester fans reading on, as his reign at the King Power was uninspiring to say the least.

But, with impressive spells in charge of the England U16s and England U17s kickstarting his managerial journey initially, the one-time Brondby boss would surely jump at the chance to manage his beloved nation, knowing what it takes to get results out of an international group.

Leicester fans will be intrigued, from a distance, to see how Cooper does, if he is announced as Bellamy's replacement, with Martin in a similar position to the Welshman right now, as he goes about resurrecting his own dented career in charge of the League One titans.

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