Gary Rowett: Leicester City boss not distracted by what relegation would cost Foxes

Leicester City manager Gary Rowett says he will not let the potential cost of relegation distract him from trying to guide the Foxes to safety.

The East Midlands club are second from bottom in the Championship with eight games left as they bid to avoid going down for the second time in as many years.

Tumbling from the Premier League to League One in the space of 12 months would come with major financial implications.

Broadcasting and central commercial payments would drop by around £115m from the £116.9m they pulled in when in the top-flight in 2024-25,, external while the club’s matchday income would also take a huge hit when, instead of entertaining some of the world’s most famous clubs in the richest competition, they would be left with comparative minnows playing in the third tier.

A final parachute payment of around £40m from the Premier League would soften the blow, but they would be going down as a side with one of the biggest wage bills in the Championship who will also have some of its highest earners still under contract.

Rowett sat down with BBC East Midlands Today to reflect on his first month in charge of the club, and was asked about the enormity of his rescue mission and “financial implications” riding on the job he does at Leicester.

“I probably don’t try to think about that side of it too much, because that then starts to maybe affect your decision-making and maybe be swayed into certain decisions around that,” Rowett said.

“You can look at the implications externally around not achieving your target, but I think for me it’s just about doing what we need to do.

“Winning a game of football is no different whether you’re seventh in the league trying to get in the play-offs, or whether you’re 19th in the league trying to stay in a division.

“To me it’s the same process. There might be a slightly different way of going about it mentally and psychologically, but it’s the same. And I’ll always try to simplify the game in that manner rather than think about the bigger picture really.”