Leicester City's top 10 best ever managers in order of win percentage (Ranked) | OneFootball

Many great managers have come through the doors at Leicester City over the years, with Enzo Maresca now tasked with turning the club's fortunes around.

It looks set to be an exciting campaign for the club in the second tier this season, with the Foxes expected to be competitive under Pep Guardiola's former assistant.

Leicester were relegated from the top-flight last season, just two years on from winning the FA Cup, and the former Premier League winners have the resources which should have them among the favourites for promotion this season under the guidance of Maresca.

The Italian is the latest in the hotseat, with Leicester having had plenty from the weird to the wonderful in the managerial position over the years.

Here, we take a look at those managers with the highest win percentages in Leicester City's history (minimum 20 games).

10 Arthur Lochhead - 40.74%

Lochhead was a player at Leicester for nine years, where he found the net over 100 times and was part of the side who finished Football League First Division runners-up in 1928–29.

He later managed the Foxes for two years, with Leicester being the only side the Scot would ever manage. The former centre-forward passed away in 1966 at the age of 69.

Lochhead won 33 of 81 games in charge, placing him tenth on the all-time list of Leicester managers based on win percentage.

9 Willie Orr - 42.15%

Willie Orr was the manager book-ended by legendary Leicester figure Peter Hodge. In his first three seasons at the club, the team set a new highest ever league finish, going from 7th in the top-flight to third, and then to runners-up in 1929, a record that remains intact today.

Orr built on the work started by Hodge and managed the side to a close second-placed finish. Form didn’t stay with the Foxes though and Willie Orr bowed out allowing Hodge to return and attempt to pick up where he left off.

Orr died at the age of 72, having managed the club over the course of six years, with 102 wins in 242 games.

8 Craig Shakespeare - 42.31%

Shakespeare has spent most of his coaching career as an assistant manager, with the 59-year-old having spent three separate spells in that role with the Foxes.

Having initially taken charge as a caretaker in February 2017 and impressed, in June Shakespeare then signed a three-year deal to be the permanent manager for Leicester. However, he was dismissed in October, after poor performances left the club in the bottom three of the Premier League.

Shakespeare won 11 of his 26 games in charge of the Foxes.

7 Brian Little - 43.09%

Brian Little transformed a fairly hopeless Foxes side from a side waiting for their first relegation to the third tier into play-off finalists for three years running.

The memories of heartbreaking near misses against Blackburn Rovers and Swindon Town were all made worth it for Leicester fans, when his side silenced the Rams in 1994, giving the Foxes their first ever promotion to the recently founded Premier League.

The 69-year-old won 81 of his 188 games as Leicester's head coach.

6 Sven-Goran Eriksson - 43.64%

The former England manager managed Leicester for one year, following his appointment in October 2010. The 75-year-old was initially tasked with taking the side out of the relegation zone, which he quickly did.

However, the ambition changed, with the Foxes aiming to achieve promotion from the second tier. Eriksson spent big in a bid for promotion in the summer of 2011, including multimillion-pound transfer fees on Matt Mills and Jermaine Beckford. However, after thirteen league matches, Eriksson left the club by mutual consent, with the Foxes sitting in the 13th position in the league, two points from a play-off position.

Eriksson won 24 of his 55 games as the manager of the Foxes, and has since managed in China and the Philippines, too.

5 Dave Halliday - 43.84%

The King Power Stadium wll host Championship football next season.

Dave Halliday’s reign at Leicester wasn’t too eventful, but he did guide the side to their fourth of a record seven titles in the second tier in 1957 following a successful spell as manager of Aberdeen.

During his stint at Filbert Street, Halliday laid the foundations for what would be Leicester’s longest stint in the top-flight. In fact, Filbert Street would be Halliday’s final footballing destination. Following his exit from the manager’s role in 1958, he retired from football management and passed away twelve years later.

He won 64 of his 146 games in charge of Leicester.

4 Claudio Ranieri - 44.44%

The legendary Italian was always going to feature somewhere on this list. In July 2015, Leicester announced Ranieri as the club's new manager on a three-year contract. His appointment was initially met with scepticism, but he would go onto win the most unlikely title in Premier League, and indeed, footballing history.

This was the first time the club had won the top-flight title in their 132-year history. The team's success was described as a "fairytale" and for most it is considered one of the greatest sporting achievements by any team. The start to Ranieri's second Premier League season with Leicester was less successful, when, by late November, the team had lost 6 of their opening 12 Premier League matches. He was eventually dismissed by the club, with the side one point above the relegation zone with 13 matches remaining.

Ranieri won 36 of his 81 games as manager of the Foxes.

3 Brendan Rodgers - 45.10%

Third on the list is Leicester's third most recent manager, who has since returned to former side Celtic north of the border. In February 2019, Rodgers was appointed manager of Leicester City, following the sacking of Claude Puel, arriving from the Scottish champions.

He steadied the ship and turned the team's fortunes around, when, n his first full season, Rodgers guided Leicester to fifth place and therefore qualifying for the UEFA Europa League. He then won an FA Cup in his second full season in charge, overseeing one of the most successful period in the club's history.

After unravelling in the 2022/23 season, Rodgers was sacked in April, and the Foxes were subsequently relegated. The 50-year-old's time with the club ended with 92 wins in 204 games.

2 Frank O'Farrell - 46.27%

Frank O’Farrell’s tenure was all too typical of Leicester City’s history overall. Under the Irishmen’s tutelage, City experienced relegation, winning the second tier and also suffered FA Cup final defeat.

Of course, those three outcomes are defining moments but O’Farrell can take great pleasure in being the only manager to lead the Foxes to all three before moving to emerging European giants Manchester United in 1972.

He died last year, aged 94, and left the club with 62 wins in 134 games, placing him second in the all-time best Leicester managers for win ratio.

1 Nigel Pearson - 47.87%

Nigel Pearson is one of the greatest managers in the Leicester's existence, and sits atop this list with the highest win percentage in the club's history. He was still able to guide the declining Foxes out of the painfully unfamiliar third tier and in style, before guiding the Foxes to the record-breaking seventh second tier title in his second stint in charge.

He guided the Foxes back to the top-flight. As being responsible for a quarter of the club’s league titles, Pearson also boasts the highest win rate of any of the club’s longest serving managers. On 16 May 2015, Leicester confirmed their Premier League status following a goalless draw with Sunderland, becoming only the third team to escape relegation having been bottom at Christmas. The foxes finished the season in 14th place.