Ruud van Nistelrooy's biggest Leicester City issue means repeat of great escape so unlikely

Wolves’ home defeat to Fulham on Tuesday night means the severity of Leicester City’s predicament has not yet eclipsed that of a decade ago.

Had Wolves beaten the Cottagers, City would have been eight points from safety. When they recovered from six months inside the relegation zone to survive in 2014-15, they were never more than seven points from 17th.

So, remaining just five points behind Wolves means they retain the knowledge that it’s a gap they have surmounted before.

But while, on a purely points basis, it’s not yet the worst it’s been, there are a couple of reasons why City’s situation is more dire than it was 10 years ago.

Firstly, there’s the number of teams City have to chase down. City are one point worse off than they were at the same stage in 2015, but there were a lot more teams within their reach.

Now, there are just four teams below the 30-point mark. Ten years ago, at the same stage, there were nine.

In fact, after 26 games, Hull were 15th. They went on to be relegated. This year, 15th-placed Manchester United are not at all considered to be serious contenders for the drop.

But it’s not just that there are fewer teams for City to chase down, there will be greater doubts over whether they are capable of doing so.

They are one point worse off than a decade ago, but there’s a gulf in their goal difference, which stood at -18 in 2015, but stands at -34 now.

There was not a single game in the 2014-15 season that City lost by more than two goals. Not once were they thrashed. That provided the belief that a turnaround in the club’s fortunes was within reach.

This season, they’ve already lost by more than two goals on six occasions. Four of those have come under Ruud van Nistelrooy.

It’s been perhaps the biggest problem under the Dutchman, just how quickly the side fold. Too often they concede once and seemingly give up on getting a result.

They fought back to get a draw against Brighton and to beat Tottenham, but they have also capitulated multiple times, conceding a quickfire second after first going behind. It happened against Wolves, Everton and Brentford.

When looking to draw inspiration from the 2014-15 season, van Nistelrooy passed on Andy King’s message that, during the great escape, “the turnaround didn’t come out of the blue”.

It was to say that the seven wins they earned from their final nine games were a result of the work that had been done in the previous 29 outings, when results weren’t going City’s way.

The problem for this season’s City, given their recent results, and given how prone they are to collapsing under adversity, is that it feels like a turnaround would have to come out of the blue.

The players have to start showing some mental fortitude. They've not kept a clean sheet in 22 games. They're probably going to concede. They cannot afford to fold the moment they do let one in.

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