Former Republic of Ireland international Rob Kelly has been appointed Leicester City manager on a permanent basis but pledged to remain true to the vision of his sacked predecessor.

Kelly has been confirmed as Foxes boss on a one-year rolling contract after preserving City's Championship status.

Previous Leicester manager Craig Levein had appointed Kelly as his assistant in December 2004 but, with the Walkers Stadium side languishing in the relegation zone, Levein was sacked in January of this year and replaced by his right-hand man.

Kelly was initially placed in charge on a game-by-game basis but the board then extended his tenure until the end of this season.

And now, after having won seven, drawn three and lost two of his dozen league games in charge so far, Kelly has been rewarded with a permanent contract after guiding Leicester to 16th in the table, 13 points above the drop zone.

He said: "Craig Levein had a vision, a way forward for this football club, and it was something I and everyone else bought into.

"Although, for whatever reason, things stalled for a while, it's important we continue with that vision of development and growth.

"We don't necessarily only want younger players but what we do want is players with hunger and a desire to succeed."

Kelly was born in Birmingham but was already playing under-age soccer for Ireland when he signed apprentice forms at Leicester in 1981.

He moved to Wolves in 1987 and trained as a journalist when he retired as a a player in 1990 due to a back injury.