Leicester: Roy Hodgson has emerged as a contender to succeed Claudio Ranieri as Leicester City manager, although Craig Shakespeare remains in pole position. Hodgson, the former England head coach, is understood to have been tentatively approached shortly after the shock departure of Ranieri, a dismissal that polarised opinion across football.

The 69-year-old Hodgson has been out of work since leaving the national team following a disastrous experience at Euro 2016, but is seen as a strong candidate to replace Ranieri. Shakespeare is the favourite for the post, his chances boosted by the 3-1 win over Liverpool on Monday night, and it is thought that a victory over Hull City on Saturday may be enough to confirm him as manager for the rest of the season. But the approach to Hodgson, which is believed to have been made on Friday, proves that Leicester are assessing other options in the event of Shakespeare’s interim appointment going awry.

Hodgson is keen to return to the game and has vast experience of relegation battles in the Premier League after avoiding the drop at Fulham and West Bromwich Albion. His profile will also appeal to Leicester’s Thai owners, the Srivaddhanaprabha family, who will be assisted in the managerial process by Jon Rudkin, the director of football, chief executive Susan Whelan and head of football operations Andrew Neville.

Guus Hiddink, the former Chelsea manager, and Alan Pardew are also believed to have held initial talks with representatives from Leicester, but Hodgson is the most intriguing name to emerge following Ranieri’s exit last Thursday.

Hodgson resigned shortly after the humiliating 2-1 defeat by Iceland at Euro 2016, ending his spell with England after four years. But late last year he admitted he would welcome a return to football and has told close friends he wants one more job before retirement.

He said: “I certainly don’t feel that I couldn’t handle the day-to-day work and the day-to-day pressures. I just have to wait and see what comes along.

“I’ve never had a long spell out of the game, it’s always been a month or two and then back in again, and sometimes not even that.

“So these four or five months won’t do me any harm. But I’m hoping that something will come along that will really interest me and the people who are inviting me perhaps to join them are aware of what they’re getting, and they’re getting what they want.”

Hodgson is in Leicester’s thoughts, possibly even as a long-term appointment in the summer, but it is unclear at this stage whether he would make his return to the game in the east Midlands.

Though Leicester have their Champions League round-of-16 second leg against Sevilla on March 14, the defending champions have only 12 league games left while the transfer window is closed.

A win over Hull on Saturday could end Leicester’s search, however, and Shakespeare’s hopes of landing the job, initially on a short-term basis, have certainly been enhanced.

The performance and result against a woeful Liverpool impressed Leicester officials, who regard Shakespeare as an underrated coach and someone who can maintain continuity. He is admired by the players and backroom staff, having had two separate spells with the club after coming in with Nigel Pearson, and has strong support in the King Power Stadium boardroom.

Shakespeare has also proved he can make tough decisions, dropping 15-million-pound (Dh68.2 million) summer signing Ahmad Musa from the match-day squad for Monday’s game. He also consulted players before the Liverpool game, opting to return to the basic 4-4-2 set-up that proved so effective during the club’s remarkable title-winning season.

Danny Simpson, the Leicester defender, believes Shakespeare has the credentials to guide the club to survival. “He is a top coach, a top guy,” he said.

“He has just taken it on naturally. He has kept it simple, he told us what he wanted us to do, which was very basic. Let’s hope we can carry it on for him.

“Would we back him to get the job? I’m pretty sure, I can’t see why not, but it is the chairman’s decision. It is up to him, he owns the club. He is passionate about the club since day one, he has been here six, seven years.

“Everyone was fighting against Liverpool, but that means nothing if we don’t continue it this Saturday against Hull.”

When asked if Leicester’s decision to sack Ranieri was justified, Simpson replied: “We don’t know that until the end of the season, we don’t know if the manager was there tonight if we would have won.

“It’s all ifs and buts. Claudio was fantastic for me, he revived my career.”