OPINION: Three reasons why former Everton boss Kirk would be a great fit for Leicester City | OneFootball

Leicester City parted company with manager Jonathan Morgan last week with the club bottom of the Barclays FA Women’s Super League and still without a point.

It has been an incredibly tough transition for the East Midlands club following their promotion from the FA Women’s Championship in May.

Leicester City have now started their recruitment process for a new manager with Head of Women’s Football Development Emile Heskey overseeing matters on an interim basis. No permanent appointment is thought to be imminent, however, one name that has been suggested by a number of fans is former Everton boss Willie Kirk. The Scot was recently sacked by Everton following a poor start to the season but Kirk is a talented manager who will surely not be out of work too long.

FAWSL Full-Time have identified three reasons why Kirk would be an ideal candidate for the Leicester City job.

Kirk has turned things around before

Kirk has a history of turning form around with clubs in the English game. He steadied the ship at Bristol City in his first stint in English management, helping the club recover from relegation with an immediate promotion and back-to-back eighth-place finishes in the top flight. Kirk also hauled latest club Everton off the bottom of the Barclays FA Women’s Super League table following his appointment on Merseyside and recorded top half of the table finishes in the two campaigns which followed. Kirk has twice turned clubs’ fortunes around and there is no doubting the fact that he could do it again at Leicester City.

Familiarity of personnel would be a benefit

One of the real benefits of Leicester City appointing Kirk would be the fact that he already knows a lot about some of their players. Kirk worked with Kirstie Levell, Georgia Brougham, Mollie Pike and Hannah Cain at Everton while Charlie Devlin was on Manchester United’s books during his time working as Casey Stoney’s assistant. Knowing some members of the Leicester City squad inside out would surely help Kirk hit the ground running if he was to be appointed by The Foxes.

Kirk’s recent record against the bottom five is faultless

If Leicester City are to stay in the Barclays FA Women’s Super League this season, they will need to beat some of those teams around them in the table starting with Birmingham City in their final game of the calendar year. Kirk’s recent record against those sides currently occupying the bottom five positions in the Barclays FA Women’s Super League table is good, at Everton he won his last four games against those clubs, scoring 13 goals and conceding just two. Kirk has not lost a game against Reading, Aston Villa or Birmingham City since October 2019 and that record is surely something which would appeal to Leicester City as they plan to beat the drop.

Leicester City have four matches to play before the end of the year. They face Manchester United and Manchester City in the FA Women’s Continental League Cup while they take on Arsenal and Birmingham City in the Barclays FA Women’s Super League. Head of Women’s Football Development Heskey is expected to take charge of the game against Manchester United next weekend if a new manager is not appointed beforehand.