Title hero delivers damning Leicester City verdict as survival chances assessed
Title-winning hero Wes Morgan has been left scratching his head in disbelief at some of Leicester City’s defending this season.
The Foxes have the second-worst defensive record in the division as things stand. They have shipped 61 goals in 27 games, behind only bottom-placed Southampton (65) for the number conceded.
It has left Ruud van Nistelrooy’s side facing a fight for survival as they look to avoid an immediate return to the second tier. They are 19th in the table, five points adrift of safety with 11 matches to go.
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"Some of the defending, you have to scratch your head and wonder what's going on,” Morgan told talkSPORT after City’s 2-0 defeat at West Ham United on Thursday night. "In the Championship, Leicester kept the ball and were fantastic throughout that campaign. When you keep the ball, you're not conceding chances. That was the success of Leicester in the Championship.
"This season, in the Premier League, you know you're not going to get as much of the ball so it's going to be difficult. You have to stand firm, ride the wave and be strong defensively. That's not been the case.
"Ruud has had a hard job to try to get that defensive mentality and that strength to try to withstand the storm and see it through. He's really struggled to get that into the team.”
Next up for City is a trip to face Chelsea next Sunday (March 9, 2pm kick-off). It marks the start of a tough run of fixtures with games against both Manchester clubs, Newcastle United, Brighton and Hove Albion and Liverpool to follow.
Morgan has pointed out one win could quickly change the relegation picture. But as his former club try to chase down Wolverhampton Wanderers ahead of them, the ex-defender is concerned about a shortage of “game-changers”.
Asked if City can stay up, Morgan added: "If you look at the stats, the data and the form guide, everything points to no. But the biggest stat is they are only five points away from Wolves and it's still all to play for.
"There is a chance. The Leicester City faithful, the fans, the board, the staff and everyone involved at the club have to focus on that - that it's not over yet and we can't just give up.
"There's five points to climb (out of the relegation zone). One win makes a big difference and the momentum can change. That's what Leicester have to hope for - albeit their upcoming fixtures don't look great.
“When you look at the Wolves team, you’ve got the likes of (Matheus) Cunha and (Rayan) Ait-Nouri, they’ve got some game-changers in the team. When you compare that against Leicester, they do kind of stand out.
“I’ve watched a lot of Leicester this season and they’ll have spells in the game where you think they look good, especially in the attacking phase. But I think we can all agree, defensively that has been a big, big issue for Leicester this season.
"They have leaked far too many goals and conceded far too many chances. If your defence isn't strong, you don't have much of a chance of winning the game. I think that's the tale of the season.”
