Leicester City

Stowell joins City coaching staff
Leicester boss Craig Levein has welcomed new goalkeeping coach Mike Stowell, 40, to the club. Levein told City's website: "Mike is young and enthusiastic and that is just the sort of culture we are trying to instil here. "I am sure he will become a valuable member of the backroom staff." Stowell, who made over 400 appearances for Wolves, was let go by Bristol City at the end of last season and turned down a similar role at Ashton Gate.

Gillespie confident over future
Keith Gillespie is confident of finding another club in the Coca-Cola Championship despite being released by Leicester City. Gillespie's performance was one of the few positives from Northern Ireland's 4-1 defeat by Germany on Saturday. "I was pretty pleased with the way I played, especially in the first half," said Gillespie. Unlike four other players, he lined out for Northern Ireland on Saturday despite not currently having a club. Jeff Whitley, Phil Mulryne, Colin Murdock and James Quinn sat the game out fearing that if they got injured it could harm their immediate futures. Gillespie looked comfortable in the right wing-back role after taking up the option of playing although he acknowledged that his mind had been in turmoil before the match. "It was a dilemma but it is good to play at the end of training and it was a big game against Germany," he told BBC Radio Five Live. "The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to play. "I like playing, especially at Windsor Park as we get such good support. It was just disappointing the way the game finished." Manager Lawrie Sanchez said he had no quarrel with the quartet who decided to opt out. "Their livelihoods could have been affected by their situation here if they had got injured. They have to put their families first." It was a disappointing end to a disappointing season for the province, who have now failed to win in nine matches stretching back to last August.

Leicester complete Douglas swoop
Leicester have completed the signing of Scotland international goalkeeper Rab Douglas from Celtic on a free transfer. The 33-year-old has penned a three-year deal at the Walkers Stadium, to the delight of manager Craig Levein. "Rab is an international goalkeeper who has played many games in high pressure situations in front of massive crowds," the Foxes boss told their website. "Rab has taken a fairly substantial pay-cut to come to Leicester and that just shows his ambition." Douglas joined Celtic from Dundee for £1.5m in October 2000 and went on to make 162 appearances for the club. He won his place back at Celtic Park from 20-year-old David Marshall. But departing manager Martin O'Neill made it clear that he thought that the younger man would be first choice next season. "He has done it up in Scotland and he wants to prove himself down here," added Levein. "I am happy to have him on board. "I think the fact that we have been able to sign him sends a message out to our supporters that we mean business this coming season."

Douglas delighted by Levein link
New Leicester keeper Rab Douglas has said manager Craig Levein was a key reason for his move south from Celtic. "I spoke to a few of the Hearts boys when I was on international duty with Scotland and they told me Craig was a great coach and a good man manager. "I then came down to speak to him and there was never any doubt I was going to sign for him after that," he said. The 33-year-old agreed a three-year deal after moving to the Walkers Stadium on a free transfer. "The manager is building a good squad in an attempt to get Leicester into the Premiership and it is great to be part of it," he added. "It's a complete fresh start for me and I'm really looking forward to it."

Veteran Dublin stays on at Foxes
Leicester City striker Dion Dublin has signed a new one-year contract. Dublin, 36, played at centre-forward and centre-back last season and was instrumental as the Foxes reached the quarter-finals of the FA Cup. City boss Craig Levein told BBC Radio Leicester: "He has certainly more than merited a new deal and we're thrilled that Dion has decided to re-sign. "From the moment I came to the club he wanted to buy into what we were doing - both on the field and off it."

Levein put off by Scottish prices
Leicester City manager Craig Levein has been scared off by the price tags on Celtic's Ulrik Laursen and Dundee pair Steve Lovell and Scott Robertson. Celtic appear willing to let Laursen leave despite the defender failing to become a first-team regular. Dundee are desperate for cash following relegation, and striker Lovell and midfielder Robertson are much admired. But Levein told BBC Sport: "We made approaches but sometimes clubs have different valuations of players." Levein had already raided Celtic this summer, signing goalkeeper Rab Douglas and capturing Guinea international Momo Sylla. But the former Hearts head coach was unable to agree a deal with Dundee for Englishman Lovell, who has scored 35 goals in 98 appearances for the Taysiders since arriving from Portsmouth. Robertson has already caught the eye after breaking into the Dundee side this season. Laursen has made just 57 appearances in three years for Celtic following his £1.5m move from Hibernian.

Sky Blues planning Staunton talks
Coventry boss Micky Adams is planning showdown talks with veteran defender Steve Staunton - who has failed to report for pre-season training. The 36-year-old has been linked with a move to League One side Walsall, who have offered him a player-coach role. Adams said: "I am very disappointed Stan has not turned in and I would like to find out the reason why." "Where do we go from here? That is something I need to speak to the player about before speaking to the press." Meanwhile, the Sky Blues have agreed terms with out-of-contract Crewe keeper Clayton Ince and striker James Scowcroft, who has been released by Leicester, reports BBC WM. Ince, 32, has signed a two-year deal, while Scowcroft, 29, is set to sign a three-year contract, subject to the player passing a medical. City have also taken ex-Nottingham Forest midfielder Darryl Powell on trial. Also hoping to earn deals are former QPR goalkeeper Chris Day and defender Paul Watson, who played under Adams at Brighton but was released by the Seagulls this summer.

Keeper Henderson makes Foxes move
Leicester have completed the signing of keeper Paul Henderson on a two-year deal after he passed a medical. The 29-year-old Australian failed to agree new terms with Bradford at the end of last season, and has opted to join the Championship club. But Henderson has competition for the number one jersey, with Rob Douglas also joining the midlands club from Celtic during the summer. Henderson said: "Leicester's a big club moving in the right direction." "It's a real step forward for me to come here."

Stewart leaves Foxes for Watford
Watford have signed Leicester's Jordan Stewart for £125,000. The 23-year-old is Hornets boss Adrian Boothroyd's first signing and can play on the wing, in the centre of midfield or at full-back. Stewart told the club's website: "It's a new start for me and Watford's an up and coming team. "When I met the manager a few weeks ago I knew he had the same ambition as me - we want to go to the same place which is the Premiership." The fomer England Under-21 international joined the Foxes in 1998 and went on to make 87 appearances for the club.

Hull ponder making Heath signing
Former Leicester boss Peter Taylor says that he has not yet decided whether to step up his efforts to take Foxes defender Matt Heath to Hull City. Taylor told BBC Sport: "We have had good discussions with Leicester and both sides will now have to think about making a decision. "I am now weighing up the cost and whether signing him would be right for the squad." Heath, 24, signed a professional contract with the Foxes in August 2001.

Leicester announce Inter friendly
Leicester have announced a second big-name pre-season friendly, six days after Celtic visit the Walkers Stadium. Inter Milan will be the visitors on 25 July to compete for the new Pirelli Cup, instead of a planned visit by Notts County. Inter, who finished 3rd in Serie A last season, are managed by former City favourite Roberto Mancini. "It's a fantastic opportunity for us to take on one of Europe's top sides", said manager Craig Levein.

Coventry swoop for defender Heath
Coventry have completed the signing of central defender Matt Heath from Championship rivals Leicester. Heath, 24, has joined the Sky Blues for an undisclosed fee and has penned a two-year contract at the Ricoh Arena. Coventry boss Micky Adams is a big admirer of Heath having coached him when he was Leicester manager. Hull boss Peter Taylor revealed his interest in the Foxes Academy product earlier in the week but the Tigers are still searching for a centre-back.

Leicester agree a fee for Lovell
Leicester City have agreed a fee with Dundee for the Scottish club's English striker, Steve Lovell. The 24-year-old is travelling south to have a medical and discuss personal terms with the English Championship outfit managed by Craig Levein. Lovell had also attracted interest from Aberdeen, but both they and Levein had complained about Dundee's price tag. Leicester now appear likely to sign the striker, who scored 35 goals for Dundee since arriving from Portsmouth in 1999. He had joined Pompey from Bournemouth for £250,000 but made just 17 starts in three years during which he was loaned to Exeter City, Sheffield United, QPR and then Dundee. Lovell made 98 appearances for Dundee, but the Dens Park outfit are looking to cut their wage bill now that they have been relegated from the Scottish Premier League.

Leicester groundshare bid shelved
Leicester City and Leicester Tigers have shelved plans to share the football club's Walkers Stadium. In the last eight months, the clubs and authorities had productive talks but they could not settle the issue of whose fixtures would have priority. "We came a long way in our negotiations but could not quite get over the finishing line," said City chief executive Tim Davies. The Tigers say they intend to go ahead with plans to redevelop Welford Road. The Walkers Stadium hosted this year's Heineken Cup semi-final between the Tigers and Toulouse, when the English club needed a neutral venue. Earlier this year the clubs issued a joint statement announcing their "visionary and ground-breaking" plan to share the stadium, but they could not reach an agreement. "Whilst the football and rugby authorities have been very understanding, it was not possible to resolve the primacy issue to achieve the equality that both clubs were looking for which was one of the commitments that we made to our supporters at the time of the announcement, said Tigers chairman Peter Tom. "We remain committed to providing the best possible facilities for our players and supporters as we strive to become the most successful club in world rugby. "We have also reached agreement to buy Welford Road and the adjacent land necessary for redevelopment, subject to planning approval. "We have a planning application lodged with the City Council for the first stage of a redevelopment project, to create a stadium that Tigers supporters, and the people of Leicester, can be truly proud of." City chairman Tim Davies told BBC Radio Leicester that he did not think the failure of the plan was anything to be ashamed of. "I don't think it's embarrassing at all - I think it's a credit that we got this far," he said. "We've explored all the options and we knew that primacy was going to be an issue. Before you talk to people seriously, you never know. "If you look at primacy from a football perspective, it's not an issue - we just felt it was fair to the rugby club in the spirit of having a 50-50 venture. "Given that the police won't allow us to play at the same time now anyway, I wonder in practice whether primacy is as big an issue as it seems on paper."

City built for promotion - Tiatto
Leicester captain Danny Tiatto says the side boss Craig Levein is building is geared towards winning promotion. "As long as we keep competing and working hard for 90 minutes like we have we shouldn't have a problem," the Australian told BBC Radio Leicester. "The manager wants a high tempo from the players all over the park. "You have to be physically and mentally strong to get out of this division. We have a young side that's full of energy and wants to play in the Premiership."

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