Leicester City Stand Point by David Bevan: So much to be proud of

It made me proud to be a Leicester City fan that our club was one of few that managed to stage a game of football over the weekend.

Despite the fixture being broadcast live on Sky television in very wintry weather, a decent crowd turned up for an extremely competitive game.

With City having now completed half of their scheduled games this season, it is an obvious time to take stock.

We are quite clearly ahead of schedule in Nigel Pearson's grand plan and expectations have risen as a result.

Roy Keane's rejuvenated Ipswich were quick to exploit the obvious weakness in the current side, namely a lack of pace in the full-back positions, but Pearson has moulded a team that is not accustomed to defeat.

This was a game that we would have lost two years ago. The challenge now for Pearson and City is to make the most of the potential within the club.

In the likes of Weale, Hobbs, Morrison, King and Fryatt, we have a spine of players who could make a name for themselves as truly synonymous with a successful Leicester City Football Club.

I still do not see a top-six finish this season as crucially important in the grand scheme of things, because the assembly of a team that can compete at the top level is still at an early stage.

As long as the circling vultures of lower-half Premier League clubs fail to spoil such a promising time for City supporters, this decade could begin on a high note.

In the short term, the remainder of January looks tricky with league trips to Swansea, Doncaster and Barnsley followed by a tasty home encounter with leaders Newcastle.

City's two most impressive defensive performers this season were both missing from the side that faced Ipswich. Bruno Berner was still suffering from a calf injury and Jack Hobbs was on the bench to accommodate Wayne Brown's return.

The back four coped well with their absence, Michael Morrison in particular putting in another performance befitting a fine Championship centre-back. It would be easy to criticise the failure to secure a home win against an Ipswich team that remain towards the foot of the table but the visitors put in a creditable display that gives their fans hope for the second half of the season.

Much as the point secured at Portman Road in August soon looked meagre given Ipswich's subsequent struggles, we could be looking back on this draw as a fine result in the near future.

David Bevan is a City fan and contributor to the websites FoxesTalk and Vital Football.