Michael Appleton calls sacked Craig Shakespeare an 'unsung hero' for Leicester

Shakespeare, who appointed Appleton as his assistant in June, was sacked by the club on Tuesday just four months after taking over as manager on a permanent basis following his own spell as caretaker boss towards the end of last season.

His dismissal brought to an end eight years of service at Leicester, interrupted briefly by a short spell at Hull, which had seen him undertake roles as first team coach, assistant manager and ultimately manager prior to his unexpected exit this week.

Appleton, who also worked with Shakespeare when he was a coach at West Brom, said: " I have spoken to him a couple of times since.

"I've been there myself as a manager but I don't ever recall Craig losing his job in football before so I just spent a bit of time on the phone talking him through how I felt and how I dealt with it.

"I'm sure over the coming days and weeks he will reflect and start thinking positively. I have no doubts about the fact he will be remembered as an unsung hero here.

"Only two or three days ago I did an interview and I spoke about how highly regarded he was by the players and staff at the club. I mean the whole staff - everyone who works at the stadium and the training ground.

"He has been here a long time. He has done a lot of roles at the club and he is one of the reasons why I came here. He is a top, top guy."

Appleton has no new problems to contend with ahead of his first game in charge away at Swansea on Saturday.

It remains to be seen if he will make any changes to the team but he has the same squad to pick from, with defender Robert Huth (ankle) and midfielder Matty James (Achilles) still out injured.