In his latest blog, Leicester Mercury football correspondent Rob Tanner looks at a huge week ahead for Leicester City.
A week on the road proved to be a frustrating one, and not just because of the typical night-time motorway closures and road works. You would have hoped the performance at Sheffield Wednesday was a one-off, as previous defeats this season had proven to be. However, it was a similar story at Brighton on Saturday and Nigel Pearson delivered a particularly honest and damning assessment after the game. He said he wouldn't argue if his side were accused of becoming complacent and said they hadn't shown enough desire. Ominously for the players, he said they needed to liven up, and he promised to do just that. It would be fair to assume this week that the players may be in for a few tough training sessions in preparation for what promises to be a the most testing and challenging week of the season to date. Sandwiched between games against City's automatic promotion rivals Burnley and QPR is the small matter of a Capital One Cup quarter-final against Manchester City. It would be fair to say that we will know much more about this City squad's promotion credentials after this week. They may be going into these fixtures on the back of two poor displays, but it may be the perfect challenge to snap them out of any perceived malaise. The prospect of showing exactly what they are about, especially to the watching world on television, against the best teams in the Championship and one of the best teams in the country should be motivation enough. It should bring out the best in City. I expect Pearson will make changes for the visit of the Clarets on Saturday. Hopefully, Ritchie De Laet will now be up to speed and can slot in at right-back. He has been missed more than many may have expected during his injury absence. His pace and attacking prowess down the right gives City balance and they do appear to be a more potent force going forward. It will be interesting to see what defensive pairing Pearson goes with if De Laet does return at right-back. Wes Morgan is obviously a certainty to start but who should partner him? The pairing of Moore and Morgan looked solid earlier in the season, but Marcin Wasilewski deputised when Moore switched to right-back and certainly looks better down the middle than at right-back. Then there is Ignasi Miquel, who has been one of the few players to emerge from the last two games with any credit. Anthony Knockaert continues to excite and frustrate in equal measure. On his day he is a match-winner, when he isn't on it he is a luxury, but still a fantastic prospect and the sort of player that gets fans excited. But which one will turn up on Saturday? Then there is the question of who plays in central midfield. Danny Drinkwater seems to be the man in form at present. Andy King came back into the side at Brighton having been rested and popped up with a goal. Then there is Matty James, who impressed early in the season until his red card at Charlton, while Dean Hammond has done well when called upon and was unlucky to make way at Brighton as City changed formation. Finally, Pearson has the conundrum of who plays in attack. David Nugent has been out of form in the last two games, although he isn't the only one, but tends to score against former clubs, while Jamie Vardy has been much improved this season. Chris Wood hasn't featured much lately but could come in, while Gary Taylor-Fletcher has been used predominantly as a substitute. Earlier in the season the City side seemed to pick itself. You could name the line-up with confidence. That isn't the case this week and Pearson has a few selection issues to ponder. Let's hope he gets it right because it is a big week for the club. On another note, I accompanied some of the players to Glenfield Hospital yesterday for their annual Christmas visit. Nugent, Wood, Taylor-Fletcher, Hammond, James, Drinkwater, Lloyd Dyer and Paul Konchesky toured several wards to put a smile on people's faces, and they certainly did that. It wasn't just the patients who were pleased to see them, the staff were clamouring for photographs and autographs too. It may be a busy time for the players at Christmas with the hectic schedule, but the staff will be working long shifts and, for many of the patients, Christmas dinner will be on a ward, not in their own homes. And then there were the children's wards, including the intensive care unit. That is the biggest tragedy of all and I could tell it affected one or two of the City players, especially the ones who have recently become fathers.
A week on the road proved to be a frustrating one, and not just because of the typical night-time motorway closures and road works. You would have hoped the performance at Sheffield Wednesday was a one-off, as previous defeats this season had proven to be. However, it was a similar story at Brighton on Saturday and Nigel Pearson delivered a particularly honest and damning assessment after the game. He said he wouldn't argue if his side were accused of becoming complacent and said they hadn't shown enough desire. Ominously for the players, he said they needed to liven up, and he promised to do just that. It would be fair to assume this week that the players may be in for a few tough training sessions in preparation for what promises to be a the most testing and challenging week of the season to date. Sandwiched between games against City's automatic promotion rivals Burnley and QPR is the small matter of a Capital One Cup quarter-final against Manchester City. It would be fair to say that we will know much more about this City squad's promotion credentials after this week. They may be going into these fixtures on the back of two poor displays, but it may be the perfect challenge to snap them out of any perceived malaise. The prospect of showing exactly what they are about, especially to the watching world on television, against the best teams in the Championship and one of the best teams in the country should be motivation enough. It should bring out the best in City. I expect Pearson will make changes for the visit of the Clarets on Saturday. Hopefully, Ritchie De Laet will now be up to speed and can slot in at right-back. He has been missed more than many may have expected during his injury absence. His pace and attacking prowess down the right gives City balance and they do appear to be a more potent force going forward. It will be interesting to see what defensive pairing Pearson goes with if De Laet does return at right-back. Wes Morgan is obviously a certainty to start but who should partner him? The pairing of Moore and Morgan looked solid earlier in the season, but Marcin Wasilewski deputised when Moore switched to right-back and certainly looks better down the middle than at right-back. Then there is Ignasi Miquel, who has been one of the few players to emerge from the last two games with any credit. Anthony Knockaert continues to excite and frustrate in equal measure. On his day he is a match-winner, when he isn't on it he is a luxury, but still a fantastic prospect and the sort of player that gets fans excited. But which one will turn up on Saturday? Then there is the question of who plays in central midfield. Danny Drinkwater seems to be the man in form at present. Andy King came back into the side at Brighton having been rested and popped up with a goal. Then there is Matty James, who impressed early in the season until his red card at Charlton, while Dean Hammond has done well when called upon and was unlucky to make way at Brighton as City changed formation. Finally, Pearson has the conundrum of who plays in attack. David Nugent has been out of form in the last two games, although he isn't the only one, but tends to score against former clubs, while Jamie Vardy has been much improved this season. Chris Wood hasn't featured much lately but could come in, while Gary Taylor-Fletcher has been used predominantly as a substitute. Earlier in the season the City side seemed to pick itself. You could name the line-up with confidence. That isn't the case this week and Pearson has a few selection issues to ponder. Let's hope he gets it right because it is a big week for the club. On another note, I accompanied some of the players to Glenfield Hospital yesterday for their annual Christmas visit. Nugent, Wood, Taylor-Fletcher, Hammond, James, Drinkwater, Lloyd Dyer and Paul Konchesky toured several wards to put a smile on people's faces, and they certainly did that. It wasn't just the patients who were pleased to see them, the staff were clamouring for photographs and autographs too. It may be a busy time for the players at Christmas with the hectic schedule, but the staff will be working long shifts and, for many of the patients, Christmas dinner will be on a ward, not in their own homes. And then there were the children's wards, including the intensive care unit. That is the biggest tragedy of all and I could tell it affected one or two of the City players, especially the ones who have recently become fathers.
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