Leicester City head coach Ruud van Nistelrooy has vowed to "keep fighting" after the Foxes' suffered a 2-0 defeat at West Ham United on Thursday to remain firmly in the relegation zone.
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An early strike from Tomas Soucek and Jannik Vestergaard’s own goal before half-time condemned Leicester to their 11th defeat in 12 matches, the last four by an aggregate score of 12-0.
A win for Leicester would have moved Van Nistelrooy's side to within two points of fourth-bottom Wolverhampton Wanderers, who they are scheduled to face on 26 April at Molineux.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 |
Wolves
WOL
|
27 | -19 | 22 |
| 18 |
Ipswich
IPS
|
27 | -31 | 17 |
| 19 |
Leicester
LEI
|
27 | -36 | 17 |
| 20 |
Southampton
SOU
|
27 | -46 | 9 |
Before that meeting, both teams have six matches and 18 points to play for - and Van Nistelrooy is determined to ensure that his side are still in with a chance of avoiding relegation before their Matchweek 34 encounter.
"We are going to get up again," vowed Van Nistelrooy after Thursday night's defeat.
"We are still in this fight, mathematically we are there and we keep fighting as long as we can.
“We know the situation, we know the table, we know how quick football can turn around.”
Leicester's next six fixtures
While Van Nistelrooy was unhappy with Leicester's first half display, he did take encouragement from the manner in which his players responded to going two goals behind.
"It must be clear that the fight was only one half today and that is not enough," said Van Nistelrooy. “I saw two different halves. A first half where we tried not to lose, and another half where we tried to win.
“That’s the situation we’re in, the confidence in the run of form is low and then you end up in a mindset of trying not to lose.
“Thank God in the second half they shrugged that off and tried to win but the damage was already done. They are giving me everything. The confidence, and the lack of it, showed."
'We have to start winning'
Those sentiments were echoed by defender Wout Faes, who said that Leicester have to find belief, as well as improved performances, if they are to claw their way out of the bottom three.
"Of course, there has to be belief," said Faes. "Weekend after weekend the games count down.
"I don't think we have to think too much about going forward. We just have to think game by game and we have to start winning very soon because the games are counting down."
Leicester have a blank weekend having been knocked out of the FA Cup at Manchester United in the fourth round, and return to Premier League action on Sunday 9 March when they travel to Chelsea.
