Craig Shakespeare backs City for play in play-off shake up

The fact that Leicester City have slipped out of the Championship play-off places may prove to be a blessing in disguise, according to assistant manager Craig Shakespeare.

League defeats at Cardiff and Barnsley saw City drop out of the top six for the first time since the home defeat to Bristol City on December 8, although City returned to form with an encouraging performance against Newcastle United on Saturday.

As a result the spotlight has switched to City's promotion rivals and Shakespeare believes that could be a positive.

"The Championship is a tough league and we have dropped off the pace, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing," he said.

"We are not on the radar and no one is looking at us, so maybe we can sneak in through the back door.

"We have a lot of games coming up and they will test us but we have a great chance to get some points back on the board and get back into the hunt for the play-offs."

Saturday's trip to Blackpool is the start of a challenging sequence of seven games in 21 days, and the players have experienced a change to their normal working week.

They were given Monday and yesterday off while, on Tuesday, manager Nigel Pearson led a bonding session with the squad.

Shakespeare says the hectic schedule will test the strength of Pearson's squad.

However, he added that the performance last Saturday, when City took a point against league leaders Newcastle after battling for an hour with 10 men, will give them plenty of belief.

"We are prepared for the run of games we have coming up," he said.

"This is going to be a test for everyone, but we aren't the only team in the Championship that is facing such a run of fixtures.

"We have a decent squad but it will be tested over the next few weeks.

"We need a bit of luck too with injuries, but the squad will be utilised fully because there will be loss of form and we may need to freshen things up as well.

"The way the game went last Saturday, with us going down to 10 men, to then take the game to Newcastle was great to see.

"Although we didn't get the win, I would like to think we can claim a moral victory.

"We haven't exactly covered ourselves in glory in the previous three games but this restored some pride and the fans saw us produce a good performance against a very good side that has been doing well in the league.

"The way we set ourselves up, and the way the players applied themselves, was excellent.

"The players played with a fantastic intensity and it was almost as if we had 11 on the pitch. The challenge will be to replicate that performance on a regular basis."

Leicester City midfielder Astrit Ajdarevic has gone on trial at League One Brighton.

The former Liverpool and Swedish under-19 international was due to appear for the Seagulls in a reserve game against QPR last night, but the match was postponed because of a waterlogged pitch.

Ajdarevic, a member of Liverpool's FA Youth Cup-winning side in 2007, played a supporting role in City's League One title-winning campaign last season.

He made five substitute appearances but Pearson saw enough to offer the Kosovan-born midfielder a one-year deal.