Henry Winter: Steve Cooper’s Leicester City Role is “Brutal and Unforgiving”

Award-winning football writer Henry Winter has characterized Steve Cooper’s position as Leicester City manager as “brutal and unforgiving.” During Leicester’s 3-0 loss to Manchester United prior to the international break, some Foxes supporters chanted “Cooper, Cooper sort it out.” Since their return to the top flight, Leicester has secured victories in only two of their 11 Premier League fixtures. Enzo Maresca led Leicester’s promotion from the Championship, and Cooper assumed the role after Maresca departed to take the Chelsea job. Winter noted that “raised expectations” persist at the King Power Stadium, stemming from the club’s unexpected Premier League title win eight years prior, and stated that Foxes fans “remain to be convinced” by the former Nottingham Forest manager. “The criticism will hurt him,” Winter, previously associated with The Times and The Daily Telegraph, informed BBC East Midlands Today. He further elaborated: “Managers, they are not robots – they are human beings. What were they singing the other day? ‘Cooper, Cooper sort it out’. And that is his job. It’s brutal and unforgiving and he has to sort it out.” Winter also discussed how the upcoming Saturday match against Chelsea, which includes a reunion with promotion-winning manager Maresca, will present an intriguing challenge for Leicester.