AdminMarc Albrighton has delivered a sobering assessment of Leicester City’s decline, warning that deep-rooted issues both on and off the pitch have dragged the club towards an alarming situation.
The former title-winning winger believes the problems extend far beyond results, with uncertainty and unrest now embedded across the club.
Leicester are in real danger of slipping into the third tier for only the second time in their history, a prospect that would have seemed unthinkable not long ago.
Speaking prior to Friday’s 2-2 draw with Preston, Albrighton questioned the mentality within the squad, suggesting some players have long been seeking a move away but remain at the King Power without resolution.
“It’s so sad to see. Like everybody in the country was rooting for Leicester to win the Premier League that year, I think everybody is so shocked at the downfall in such a short space of time, and such a dramatic downfall as well.
“There’s so many issues that need resolving at Leicester, whether that’s on the pitch, upstairs, on the training ground. There’s not one thing to put your finger on and say this is why that’s happening.
“There’s been changes of managers, there have been drastic changes of styles that different managers have brought in.
There are players there that have wanted to leave for a long time now and haven’t got that move. All of a sudden they find themselves in a Championship relegation battle. Are they cut out for that?
“There’s a disillusionment of the fans as well. When Enzo Maresca was in charge, he brought a real connection between the fans and the players and that’s massive at any football club.
“I look now and that could be any further apart. There’s such a disconnection between everybody at the football club. There were protests a few weeks ago and even that was divided. That creates a horrible atmosphere around the stadium.
“I just look at everything that they’re doing at the minute and it doesn’t seem to be geared towards staying in the league.”
With a summer overhaul likely, manager Gary Rowett has already addressed questions around player commitment.
“If you’re a footballer, regardless if you’ve got six months left, three months left, whatever that looks like, there is no benefit to not performing well. There is no benefit to not showing people what you’re all about.
“To me, if a player performs brilliantly at the end of the season and someone comes and buys him for silly amounts, then brilliant, I’ve done my job.
“There is no benefit to thinking about your own position. It’s something we need to come together on.
“Every player will have individual ambitions but you have to look at your mate standing next to you and you need him to help you out to achieve those. You need to be a team and then the individuals can go and perform and play really well within that.”
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