Sven-Goran Eriksson leaves his role as Leicester boss

Former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson has left his position as Leicester City boss by mutual consent.

The 63-year-old has overseen an inconsistent start to the season, winning only five of 13 league games after spending heavily in the summer.

First-team coach Derek Fazackerly has also left the club.

Academy director Jon Rudkin and coach Mike Stowell have taken joint control of the first team, with assistance from development coach Steve Beaglehole.

When contacted by BBC Sport, Eriksson refused to comment other than to confirm his departure.

A statement on Leicester's website said: "The club and its board of directors would like to thank Sven and Derek for the contribution they have made to Leicester City during their 13 months at King Power Stadium.

"The process of recruiting a new permanent manager will begin in the coming days.

"There will be no further comments from the club or any comment on the recruitment process until an appointment is made."

Martin O'Neill, who successfully managed Leicester from 1995-2000, leading them into the Premier League and to two League Cup successes in 1997 and 2000, has been installed as an early favourite to succeed Eriksson.

Curtis Davies, who played on loan at Leicester last season, told BBC Radio 5 live: "I think a lot of the players who signed in the summer, signed because Sven was the manager.

"I'm sure players believed in him. He revived my career and I owe him one."

City were taken over by Thai-based consortium Asia Football Investments in August 2010 and appointed ex-Manchester City manager Eriksson in October.

At the time, the club were bottom of the Championship but Eriksson, who was able to recruit the likes of defender Kyle Naughton and striker Yakubu on loan from Tottenham and Everton, led them to a 10th-place finish after winning 17 of 36 matches.

During the summer, the Swede recruited a number of high-profile players, backed by the financial clout of the club's owners.

These included Matt Mills from Reading for £5m, fellow defender Sean St Ledger from Preston, striker David Nugent and midfielder Neil Danns on free transfers and goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel for an undisclosed fee from Leeds.

However, despite being viewed as one of the favourites for promotion Leicester have struggled for form, amassing just 19 points from 13 matches.

They have lost three of their seven games at the King Power Stadium this season, the latest being Saturday's 3-0 defeat by struggling Millwall, which was Eriksson's 24th and final loss of his 55-match City reign.

As a result of his pedigree, Eriksson's appointment was seen as a major coup for City.

After early managerial success in his native Sweden, Eriksson went on to win trophies with Benfica in Portugal and Roma, Sampdoria and Lazio in Italy.

It was this that brought him to the attention of the Football Association, who appointed him as England manager as replacement for Kevin Keegan.

He led the national side to three successive quarter-finals at major championships before leaving the post after the latter of these, the 2006 World Cup.

In July 2007, he took charge of Manchester City - then owned by former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra - and spent heavily before leading them to a ninth-place Premier League finish, but he left the club by "mutual consent" in the summer of 2008.

Following a 10-month stint as coach of the Mexico national side, Eriksson then had a seven-month spell as Notts County director of football before managing the Ivory Coast at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Less than three months later, he became Leicester's seventh boss since 2007.

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