Don't get carried away by City's last two performances

Manager Nigel Pearson has suffered back-to-back League defeats for the first time in his Leicester City managerial career.

Is this a blip or more deep-rooted? The Mercury canvassed the opinions of fans’ spokesmen Cliff Ginnetta, Matt Davis, Lance Tomlyn and former terrace hero Lenny Glover.

Q: What are your thoughts on the 3-1 defeat to Bristol City?

Cliff Ginnetta: We were hoping they would sort themselves out against Bristol but they looked edgy and nervous from the start. You could see the confidence ebbing away. I didn't think it would be that easy to bounce straight back after the Forest defeat.

Bristol City scored great, individual goals which I want to see from our players. Their breakaway for the third goal showed just how vulnerable we are in defence.

Matt Davis: It was a very disappointing night. Their third goal summed it up. We were still appealing for a handball when they broke away. The guy (Evander Sno) who scored should not have even been on the pitch, he should have walked with two yellow cards.

But our defence looks shaky when it backs off and Bristol City exploited that.

Lance Tomlyn: It was more embarrassing than the Forest defeat because Bristol are poor and we made them look good.

Lenny Glover: The fans have been spoilt for 18 months. The team was too good for League One and now they are fighting for a play-off place – but so are lot of teams.

Q: Is this a blip or do you have greater concerns?

CG: The fans are concerned, but not overly, and we haven't had such a dip in the past 18 months. It was bound to happen, it does to all teams, particularly in the Championship. I just hope it doesn't go on too long.

MD: I hope it's just a blip, they are a confidence team. If you look on the bright side, we would have settled for seventh spot at this time of the year.

LT: The biggest fear is that the first 18 games were run on confidence, which can be a fragile thing. I hope it's not all about confidence rather than ability because if that's the case then the season could be gone.

LG: All teams have a blip and we are having ours. I wouldn't worry about it too much. There isn't really an outstanding team in the Championship, Newcastle would struggle if they were to make it into the Premiership. This is also the right time to have a blip, rather now than in April and May.

Q: What changes would you make for the Sheffield Wednesday clash?

CG: The manager tried a change of personnel against Bristol but, to be honest, they did not entirely work. He had Martyn Waghorn and Paul Gallagher up front, players who want it to their feet, and yet we kept knocking long balls.

Pearson has talked about going back-to-basics and that should start with the re-instatement of Steve Howard alongside Matty Fryatt in attack.

The midfield areas also need addressing. They are all over the place and have difficulty finding players in a blue shirt.

MD: I agree that we need to go back to basics in terms of team selection, Fryatt injected some life into the game when he came on so he should be reunited with Howard.

It will be a blow to lose Waghorn for three games. It was a late lunge on their player and he can't have any complaints. It all came down to frustration.

LT: Wayne Brown said before the game that "the more experienced members of the squad need to help the youngsters to bounce back."

To be honest, if any player should have been dropped after Saturday, it was Brown who again looked out of his depth on Tuesday.

There is a need for changes and Nicky Adams should start against Wednesday. I also fear for Fryatt. He was substituted at 2-0 down against Forest and was not in the starting line-up on Tuesday. He must feel like getting on the first transfer boat out of the place.

LG: I'm not that close to it but I know how important the Wednesday game is now. It will really play on the minds of the players if they don't get a decent result against a team which is struggling. They would be thinking 'we can't even beat them'.

Q: The fans were calling for Nigel Pearson to sort it out. How does he do that?

CG: We've put our trust in him so far and has not let us down. Perhaps, we can come back stronger because the fans were getting a bit carried away with talk of Wembley.

MD: The Sheffield Wednesday game is a must-win in mental terms. I'd rather we were playing West Brom, though, as we always seem to raise our game against the better teams.

LT: Managers don't earn their money when they are playing well. But at times like these Pearson has to sort it out.

The problem is we've got a squad of players who are nearly good.

It is the first test of Pearson's management and I think he will be okay.

LG: They are not great individuals so their game is all about their work ethic and giving 100-per-cent.

They will toil without the work rate because they don't really have that class to get them through.

Q: Do City need to be involved in the January transfer market?

CG: Absolutely, and I think we were saying that before the last two games.

We need another midfielder and another defender but what is clear is that it's not going to be a short route back to the Premiership.

I think some supporters were getting carried away and talking about Wembley. Hopefully, they will come back stronger from the two defeats.

MD: I'm reasonably confident we will be all right but I don't rule anything out in January.

LT: If the situation does not improve, it will be time for Milan Mandaric to stick his hand in his pocket properly. He has not really spent a lot on players.

LG: Yes, they will have a look at things then.