Wednesday 18 January 2017 12:13, UK
Danny Drinkwater maintains Leicester are on course to meet their objectives this season despite a poor defence of their Premier League title so far.
Last term's champions sit a lowly 15th in the table, just five points above the relegation places, after only five wins in 21 games, with none of those coming away from home.
Despite that, there have been clear highs in their campaign. Progression to the last 16 of the Champions League has been one, the emphatic nature of a 4-2 win over Manchester City another.
Drinkwater is adamant there was a sense of realism within Claudio Ranieri's squad after their remarkable achievements last season, which brought them the English title for the first time.
While nobody expected to retain the league, there was hope of a better overall return than the current one - but the midfielder believes improvements will be made.
Speaking exclusively to Sky Sports News HQ, Drinkwater said: "We knew what we achieved was unbelievable and something that that probably won't happen again.
"We weren't going to try to match it but we needed to set a new target and hopefully reach it - and the target is still there to reach.
"We got through in the Champions League and, [with] where are we in the table, if we put a few wins together it looks a lot different. We are still looking at the positives.
"Come the end of the season, if we are in the top half and we've got through to the quarter finals of the Champions League, for a team like Leicester City, I can't see many people complaining.
"You can understand the frustrations of the fans at the minute, and people questioning it, but we'll get there.
"Looking at the first half of the season, it can only improve. The season before last we kicked on at a similar time so if that can happen again, we'll be fine.
"We're still that same team as last year, we know exactly what we are capable of, but it's a matter of putting it together on the pitch.
"It's about getting points sooner rather than later. The result against Manchester City is a perfect example of what we are capable of."
One year ago today, Leicester went top of the table and never looked back. They remained there until the campaign finished, winning the Premier League by 10 points.
While the likes of Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez made more headlines than many for their goals, Drinkwater was a vital cog in Ranieri's well-oiled machine.
His form even took him to the cusp of the European Championship finals before he was omitted from Roy Hodgson's England squad when he made his final selection.
With Leicester's slump has come one on a personal level too for the former Manchester United trainee and he has not been involved with the national team since.
Yet as Drinkwater hopes to drive Leicester back up the table, he is optimistic doing that could lead to a recall from new manager Gareth Southgate too.
The 26-year-old added: "It's important and the sooner I can get my own form back, showing what I can do, hopefully that will come with it.
"I've spoken to Southgate and he seems like someone who's a perfect fit for the England job so that's good for the players and for the fans as well.
"I'll be the first to admit my form has dropped. I can see that myself and it comes and goes in football.
"But I'm still working as hard as ever and I'm sure I'll get back to those levels, definitely. You can see it yourself as a player."
