Clarke feeling ‘a hell of a lot better’

LEICESTER defender Clive Clarke has revealed that he feels “a lot better” as he continues his recovery from recent double heart failure.

The 27-year-old Irishman, who is on a three-month loan spell at the Walkers Stadium from Sunderland, collapsed and lost consciousness at half-time during the Foxes’ Carling Cup clash at Nottingham Forest at the end of last month.

After mouth-to-mouth resuscitation had failed, paramedics twice had to use a defibrillator to restart his heart in the dressing room before Clarke regained consciousness and was taken to the Queens Medical Centre in Nottingham where he remained for several days.

Clarke concedes he is not yet 100% but he is feeling much-improved after his ordeal. “I feel all right,” Clarke said.

“Obviously I am still not 100% but I feel a hell of a lot better than I did two weeks ago. It was a hard couple of days afterwards, trying to understand what happened. It was a bit surreal.’’

Meanwhile, Leicester chairman Milan Mandaric will speak to four candidates about the vacant managerial position at the Walkers Stadium and intends to make a decision by the end of the week.

The Foxes are searching for a new boss after sacking Martin Allen last month just four games into his tenure.

Mandaric is keen to have a permanent manager in place for when City resume their Championship campaign at home to QPR on Saturday but admits he might be running out of time.

“We are working hard to bring in a manager,” Mandaric said. “There is a shortlist of four people who we will interview this week and we will decide at the end of the week. My goal (to make an appointment) is before the home game against QPR. But I hope the fans understand that our priority must be to make sure we employ the right man with the right qualifications who will take the club where we want to go. So it may take a little bit longer.”

Peter Reid, Neil Warnock and Gary Megson are the names who have been linked with the Foxes hotseat.