West Ham 2-0 Leicester - A Ruud awakening published at 22:12 27 February
22:12 27 February
Gary Rose BBC Sport journalist
Image source, Getty Images
Things are looking bleak for Leicester as yet another defeat leaves them five points adrift of safety.
The Foxes have lost 11 of their last 12 Premier League games (W1), while in his 14 games in charge, Van Nistelrooy has picked up just seven points, three fewer than previous Foxes boss Steve Cooper managed this season (10 in 12 games).
The deficit to safety could quickly shrink, but the problem is Leicester look simply incapable of winning.
They currently have the dangerous combination of conceding lots of goals due to poor defending, whilst also struggling to score at the other end.
Where Leicester go from here is unclear but the pressure will no doubt be mounting on Van Nistelrooy.
West Ham 2-0 Leicester - send us your thoughtspublished at 22:00 27 February
22:00 27 February
West Ham eased past Leicester City to leave the Foxes deep in relegation trouble as their desperate form continued.
Van Nistelrooy wants 'unity' and says great escape is 'possible'published at 12:38 27 February
12:38 27 February
Nick Mashiter BBC Sport football news reporter
Image source, Getty Images
Boss Ruud Van Nistelrooy admits Leicester's public disagreements cannot happen again.
Mads Hermansen and midfielder Boubakary Soumare argued on the pitch after Fabio Carvalho scored Brentford's final goal in Friday's 4-0 defeat to the Bees.
The second-bottom Foxes go to West Ham on Thursday looking to close the five-point gap to safety after Wolves lost to Fulham on Tuesday.
Van Nistelrooy, who has lost 10 of his last 11 Premier League games, now only wants displays of unity.
He said: "We have to address this type of behaviour. As a team it's good to hold each other accountable. But it can't be like that, out in the open.
"It was the first time it's happened. The players handled it themselves, within the team, so that was a good reaction in the dressing room.
"This week it's been assessed and it's not something that will help us going forwards. I can't see that happening again. The players know.
"I didn't think it was a huge incident but it was something we discussed. The players handled it and, for me, it's a finished matter."
After the defeat to Brentford, Van Nistelrooy described Leicester's situation as alarming and he will continue to honest as the Foxes need to face reality.
"The situation we are in is alarming because we want to stay in the league," said the former Manchester United and Real Madrid striker.
"But it's also the reality of where we are in comparison to the competition we face. In that context, I try to explain how I see the challenge we are facing.
"At the same time, we are so motivated and we believe we can go against all odds, because that's what we have to do. It's possible. It's been done before at this club."
Sutton's predictions: West Ham v Leicesterpublished at 10:46 27 February
10:46 27 February
West Ham defended really well against Arsenal on Saturday and countered really well.
Manager Graham Potter will be looking for his side to build on that victory, and with Jarrod Bowen up front, they will have too much firepower for the Foxes.
This is a gimme for West Ham, and it should be a routine victory for them.
I just cannot make a case for Leicester to get anything here and it looks like their hopes of staying up have had it too.
Like Southampton fans, the only thing Leicester supporters have to look forward to is the chance to visit Norwich next season. It is a nice city, and I fully recommend it for a day out.
Has Van Nistelrooy 'given up'?published at 13:19 26 February
13:19 26 February
Kate Blakemore Fan writer
Image source, Getty Images
Where do I even begin with what we witnessed against Brentford?
I felt a sense of optimism pre-match that we could get a result against an inconsistent bottom-half team at home. After a bright start, it was not long before Brentford attacked, we recoiled and old habits returned; silly errors, poor possession, robotically playing out from the back like some broken record and the lack of goal threat.
Repeatedly resorting to the same failed methods is just going to end in the same results.
The biggest concern about the performance was it potentially being a cultural issue. It is no secret that standards create behaviour, which in turn creates a culture, and I fear that Leicester's standards have fallen so far in recent years that a new culture has emerged that is not good.
'Standards' doesn't mean where one finishes in the table, it is more about creating a culture where individuals consistently behave in a way that aligns with the set standards, which then promotes positive outcomes.
There is no doubting that this team is tight-knit, but are they holding each other to account to create the standards?
Ruud van Nistelrooy's post-match interview inferred he had given up: "We are doing everything we can but the level of opposition that we face is too big for us. It's difficult to compete."
We were in an identical position during the Great Escape season, yet Nigel Pearson would never have spoken in such a manner.
The elusive 'standard' seems to be the Rolls-Royce, gold-plated Seagrave training ground - a £100m complex epitomising the elite level of modern football.
But many argue that its opening has been the catalyst for our downturn. Players are attracted to it, which is great, but do they feel the hard work is done and the rest will take care of itself upon arrival? A white elephant, perhaps?
Whatever the reason, we are now staring down the barrel of relegation and, without some major changes in application, this will be confirmed before the end of the season.
'Hope does not keep you in the Premier League... there are ways to bridge gap'published at 10:31 26 February
10:31 26 February
Image source, Getty Images
The latest episode of When You're Smiling is centred around Ruud van Nistelrooy's comments after Friday's defeat by Brentford, when he admitted the level of some of Leicester's opponents is "too big" for his team to compete against.
Former Foxes winger Matt Piper told the BBC Radio Leicester podcast that it is possible for the club to stay in the Premier League despite the quality not being high enough in the squad.
"There are ways to bridge the gap. Sean Dyche did this for six or seven years at Burnley," he said.
"If you haven't got those players that are able to bridge the gap, you have got to find them. You can look at the under-21s, the under-18s, the periphery players who aren't getting a chance.
"He [Van Nistelrooy] used a word that I really don't like in this situation: hope. Hope does not keep you in the Premier League. You can't keep picking the same team and crossing your fingers before you go out. It's just going to be the same as what we've seen.
"There are so many untested players, or ones he has tested in the cups and then not given another opportunity.
"There are youngsters who are doing incredible things. I would at least be putting some of them on the bench and bringing them on for 15 minutes. One of them could surprise you."