Leicester must show belief in relegation scrap – Pearson

Nigel Pearson insists that Leicester City still have a lot more work to do if they are to survive in the Premier League after closing the gap on their relegation rivals.

Jamie Vardy’s last-gasp strike secured a 3-2 victory at West Brom on Saturday as Pearson’s men came from behind to make it seven points from their last four games.

But Pearson, who believes that the second-half display was reflective of Leicester’s recent form, affirmed that the players must maintain their belief if they are to stand a chance of avoiding the drop. 

“We’ve still got an awful lot to do, although it makes preparation for the next game more positive, we’ve got to go out and perform again,” he said.

“At no point this season have the players doubted their belief, probably the first half [against West Brom] was the first time that’s happened, so we need to keep that up.

“We’ve had some occasions recently, particularly away, where we don’t think things went our way, so it’s nice for things to go our way.”

After David Nugent had cancelled out Darren Fletcher’s early opener for Albion, Tony Pulis’ side retook the lead before the break through Craig Gardner’s powerful volley.

Robert Huth restored parity as the second half drew to a close before, in the dying moments, Vardy fired in the winner.

And despite being pleased with the second-half showing, Pearson admitted that his side’s first-half performance left a lot to be desired.

“We weren’t very pleased with the first half, because with the situation we’re in at the moment we don’t want to have regrets about how we approached the game or applied ourselves,” he continued.

“With the second half we took our fate into our own hands and we want to keep it there.

“We had to take a few chances, we had plenty of attacking players on the pitch in the second half and plenty of craft there.

“Vardy and Nugent are difficult for defenders to deal with because of their energy levels and pace, so we have to play to their strengths.”