Leicester City chairman sends a heartfelt message to a world-class star as Enzo Maresca appointed

All the latest Leicester City news and views from LeicestershireLive as the Foxes name their new manager

Leicester City have thanked Dean Smith and his back-room team for their efforts in trying to keep the club in the Premier League.

Ultimately Smith and coaches Craig Shakespeare and John Terry were not able to do that and the Foxes slipped into the Championship on the final day of the season despite a victory over West Ham.

That set in motion a sequence of events that led to today’s appointment of Enzo Maresca as the club’s new manager, just days after the Italian helped Pep Guardiola win the Champions League and a famous treble.

It also means Smith and his team leave the King Power Stadium after producing nine points from his eight games in charge, including wins over Wolves and West Ham. However, defeats against Fulham and Liverpool, and draws with Leeds and Everton, ultimately proved costly for City.

Nevertheless, the club’s chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha placed on record his gratitude, telling the club website: “I’m enormously grateful to Dean who, together with Craig and John, agreed to take on a big challenge in those final eight games and gave everything to help us retain our Premier League status.

“Our quest was ultimately unsuccessful, but the confidence and fight demonstrated during the run-in were born of Dean’s qualities as a coach and a leader, and the work of his staff to help the squad move forward. I offer my thanks and very best wishes to Dean, Craig, and to John in their future pursuits and look forward to welcoming them back to King Power Stadium as guests and friends of the club.”

Speaking on the final day of the season Smith said: “The raw materials are of an elite club. It feels raw, it hurts, but with the infrastructure, it will bounce back. You have to improve on the things that let you down and I have no doubts the players will.”