Don't blame me for Foxes fortunes, says Taylor

Peter Taylor has insisted he should not carry all the blame for Leicester slump in fortunes which has seen them forced into administration.

The former Foxes boss is incensed at comments from ex-City striker Tony Cottee that his spending spree is the reason why the club are in their current financial crisis.

Taylor points out that his net spending only cost the club around £13m (€20.65m) which was approximately the amount of money he was given from the sale of Emile Heskey to Liverpool.

And Taylor, now in charge of Hull, points the finger at the cost of financing the new Walkers Stadium - around £35m (€55.6m) - and the drop in television revenue following the club’s relegation to Division One for the club’s recent predicament.

Taylor told PA Sport: ‘‘I am really sad to see things as they are now. I really enjoyed my time at Leicester and I really hope things improve and I think the squad is good enough to get back into the Premiership.

‘‘But it is very disappointing when you read comments from people like Tony Cottee basically saying what is happening is all down to me, that it is all my fault.

‘‘It is easy for Tony to say that and he should know from his own short spell as a manager at Barnet, from whom he is getting the blame for their demise, that things aren’t easy and cannot be attributed to one person.’’

Sky Sports pundit Cottee has been reported as saying: ‘‘It was always going to be the hardest job in the world to replace Martin O’Neill but what happened was a nightmare.

‘‘Many of the players simply weren’t good enough and you don’t have to be a very good judge to see where all the problems started and ended.

‘‘It is all well and good saying the club’s financial controllers should have kept to tighter budgets but the buck always has to stop with the manager.’’

Taylor said: ‘‘I can hold my hand up for certain things and I will always get stick for signing Ade Akinbiyi for £5m and that move not working out.

‘‘But a few people should be holding their hands up. It is not one person’s fault. A few people are at fault for past things.

‘‘Maybe Tony should be more honest about the players in the team at the time who were his friends and didn’t perform to anything like their capabilities and sadly in the end the club went down.

‘‘Like I said, I really hope things come back together but it’s not fair to make me the scapegoat for everything that has gone on.’’