Pearson urges Leicester to keep the faith

Leicester City boss Nigel Pearson has urged his players not to give up on their survival bid with 10 games remaining in the Premier League season but admitted they face a “big task”.

Pearson’s side are seven points adrift of Sunderland, who are directly above the relegation zone, with a game in hand having won just four times in the top flight following promotion from the Championship.

With six of those 10 games taking place at the King Power Stadium, Pearson maintains there is cause for optimism ahead of Saturday’s trip to Tottenham.

“There will be results that surprise people and we have to make sure some of those go our way rather than our other competitors,” Pearson said on Thursday.

“We’ve got 10 games left, six at home. Our home form has not been what we would like but if we get into the latter stages in contact then we can be relatively positive.

“What’s important going into the last 10 is the clarity within our ranks as to what we need to achieve. The priority for us is to improve home form.

“It’s a big task for us and with the points we have and the shift in form we have to achieve, I wouldn’t be in any doubt that not many people will share my belief.

“But it’s important the players remain upbeat because 10 games left is a sizeable chunk of the season.

“We’re in a difficult situation but we’ve still got games left, and ultimately our results have to substantially improve.

“We’ve been competitive. If you saw us play every week you wouldn’t necessarily recognise us as a side propping up the table but that’s the reality, that’s life, there’s no point sticking your head in the sand.

“We’ve 10 games left and we’ve got to do something about it.”