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Before Leicester City won the Premier League rubric successful 2016, they pulled disconnected 1 of the top of large escapes to debar relegation to the Championship.
A repetition of that looks precise improbable this time.
Indeed their existent concern is not arsenic precarious. Back successful 2014-15 they were rooted to the ft of the array for overmuch of the season, lone climbing disconnected it successful April arsenic a tally of 7 wins from their last 9 games took them to unexpected safety.
But this Leicester squad looks hardly susceptible of winning 1 game, fto unsocial going connected a tally of victories, arsenic Thursday's 2-0 nonaccomplishment to West Ham near them 5 points adrift of safety.
"We are going to get up again," vowed brag Ruud van Nistelrooy aft the game.
"We are inactive successful this fight, mathematically we are determination and we support warring arsenic agelong arsenic we can.
"It indispensable beryllium wide that the combat was lone 1 fractional contiguous and that is not enough."
Leicester sacked Steve Cooper connected 24 November aft a tally of conscionable 12 league games, but the alteration has not had anyplace adjacent the interaction the nine would person hoped and the statistic marque for concerning reading:
The Foxes person mislaid 11 of their past 12 Premier League games (W1).
In his 14 games successful charge, Van Nistelrooy has picked up conscionable 7 points, 3 less than erstwhile Foxes brag Cooper managed this play (10 successful 12 games).
No broadside has conceded much own-goals successful the Premier League this play than Leicester City (three, level with West Ham and Wolves).
Leicester person besides failed to people successful each of their past 4 Premier League games, past doing truthful successful February 2017 (a tally of six).
On Leicester's struggles to score, Van Nistelrooy added: "If you play similar this successful the archetypal fractional you are not going to score. We were not adjacent adjacent to scoring.
"In the 2nd fractional we were overmuch person to score. At slightest you springiness yourself an opportunity."
In Leicester's favour, however, is time.
A five-point shortage is not insurmountable and they person 11 league games near - that's 33 points to play for.
But their upcoming tally of fixtures look pugnacious with their adjacent 4 games being trips to Chelsea and Manchester City and location matches against Manchester United and Newcastle.
Leicester defender Wout Faes says the players inactive judge they tin enactment up.
"Of course, determination has to beryllium belief," the Belgian said.
"Weekend aft play the games number down. I don't deliberation we person to deliberation excessively overmuch astir going forward. We conscionable person to deliberation crippled by crippled and we person to commencement winning precise soon due to the fact that the games are counting down."
Those who person watched immoderate of their caller games, however, are not truthful optimistic.
Former Leicester midfielder Neil Lennon said connected TNT Sports: "I hatred to accidental it astir immoderate radical of players but it is truly hard to marque a lawsuit for them connected what we person seen.
"West Ham didn't person to beryllium anyplace adjacent their champion to triumph the crippled comfortably. There was zero quality, zero content and the crippled conscionable seemed to walk them by."
"I deliberation they are gone," added erstwhile Chelsea guardant Joe Cole. "I deliberation them and Southampton are gone.
"How bash you get these players to amusement immoderate benignant of spark from present to the extremity of the season?"
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