Sunday 5 February 2017 21:08, UK
Jamie Carragher has challenged the Leicester players to stay up and avoid tainting one of the greatest ever sporting triumphs.
Three goals in under eight minutes heightened Leicester's relegation fears after a 3-0 defeat to Manchester United at the King Power Stadium on Sunday.
Last year's Premier League champions now sit just one point above the relegation zone and haven't scored in their last five fixtures. They face Swansea City live on Sky Sports next Sunday.
"They can't allow one of the greatest stories in sport to be tainted by relegation - don't taint one of the greatest things we've ever seen," Carragher said on Super Sunday.
"It's chalk and cheese to what we're watching now to what we're watching last season
"Last season was a freak, so this is what you'd expect from Leicester - fighting relegation.
"They have got to do something before the end of the season because one of the great sporting stories of all-time could become a story for all the wrong reasons. Their relegation could become a part of their story - you can't separate it.
"The Leicester players will say 'we were league champions' and someone will say 'but you got relegated the next year'. It takes something off it."
Newspaper reports have suggested there is a growing unrest within the Leicester squad over manager Claudio Ranieri's future at the club.
Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville admitted "it would make you like football a little bit less" if the Italian was given the boot by Leicester just eight months after leading them to a historic title.
Carragher agreed with Neville, pointing the finger of blame at the Leicester players rather than the manager.
"I feel for Claudio Ranieri - there's talk of stuff going on behind the scenes with the players, which is a disgrace," he said.
"He should have a statue, never mind getting rid of him.
"I'd be questioning the players more than the manager. They maybe think they're better than what they are because they are an average group of players, who did something special last season.
"They won the title - it was one of the greatest things we've ever seen, we loved being part of it. But, in reality they're not that good. There are no superstars out there."
