Breaking: Leicester City part company with two of Ruud van Nistelrooy’s coaches
Ben Dawson and Danny Alcock have both left the King Power Stadium having initially been retained by van Nistelrooy upon his arrival at the club at the end of November
Leicester City have made coaching changes amid the club’s desperate form with two of manager Ruud van Nistelrooy’s backroom team axed.
City announced on Monday that they had parted company with first-team coach Ben Dawson and goalkeeping coach Danny Alcock.
The duo, both brought to City by former manager Steve Cooper, had been retained to work alongside van Nistelrooy, but just a couple of months into the Dutchman’s reign, they have now left the club. They are not currently expected to be replaced.
In a statement, City said: “Leicester City has today parted company with first-team coaches Ben Dawson and Danny Alcock.
“Both Ben and Danny joined the club at the start of the 2024-25 season, serving under both Steve Cooper and Ruud van Nistelrooy, while also overseeing a brief spell in interim charge of the first-team squad.
“We place on record our thanks to Ben and Danny for their contribution and service and wish them both well in the next steps of their respective careers.”
Dawson was recruited from Newcastle in the summer, leaving his hometown to work with Cooper for the first time in club football.
When Cooper left, Dawson took over as interim boss, overseeing a 4-1 defeat to Brentford with van Nistelrooy watching from the stands.
Alcock had worked with Cooper at Forest, but while Alan Tate and Steve Rands were sacked alongside the Welshman, Alcock remained.
It means City now have just one member of Cooper’s backroom team still at the club in set-piece coach Andrew Hughes.
He is one of four people working alongside van Nistelrooy, also including goalkeeping coach Jelle ten Rouwelaar and first-team coaches Brian Barry-Murphy and Andy King, the latter promoted from the Under-18s last week.
After Barry-Murphy’s arrival, and before King’s appointment, van Nistelrooy had said he didn’t intend to add any more coaches.
Whether the exits of Dawson and Alcock are to open the door for others to arrive, or whether they’re simply to streamline the backroom staff, remains to be seen, but no new coaches are currently expected to arrive.
Van Nistelrooy, who has now lost 10 of his last 11 league matches in charge, will discuss Dawson and Alcock’s departures at his press conference on Tuesday afternoon.
