LEICESTER, England : Leicester City manager Dean Smith was presented with a tough task when he took over the reins at the club with eight games to go but he could not manage to find the spark that would keep the Foxes in the Premier League.
Sunday's 2-1 victory over West Ham United was only his second win in those eight games, and that coupled with three draws was not enough to save them from the drop as Everton pulled off a 1-0 win over Bournemouth to stay up at their expense. "When I came here with eight games to go, I thought we probably needed 11 points.
We've fallen two short of that with nine, and it ended up being 11 points," a dejected Smith told Sky Sports."I failed on my part, because I felt we needed 11 points. (In the) Leeds and Everton games, two points got away from us ...
I'm sure there will be a club review but it's disappointing." On his appointment, Smith spoke of the need to "rebuild confidence and instil belief in the team", and they certainly looked confident as they took a 2-0 lead over a West Ham side that had one eye on their Europa Conference League final with Fiorentina on June 7.