Leicester can be regular top-four contenders, says Andy King

Andy King believes Leicester City can be regular challengers for a top-four place after showing their resilience over the first half of this season.

Claudio Ranieri's side are two points clear at the top of the Premier League having suffered just one defeat all season - a 5-2 loss to Arsenal at the end of September - while winning their last three, including a 2-1 win over champions Chelsea two weeks ago.

City's title challenge has been predicted to falter by many, with Ranieri himself cooling such talk on Tuesday, but midfielder King says there is no lack of belief within the Italian's squad and sights are set high at the club.

"It's a big couple of years, challenging for the Premier League title is obviously a big ask, but I don't see any reason why we can't get in the top four or six, or even the top eight to start with and then try and build from there," he told Sky Sports News HQ.

"That's the owners' vision. That's what they set out when they first took over the club. He's [Ranieri] an experienced manager, he's managed in Europe and is doing really good job here. 

"He's aware that he's inherited a good team and squad and maybe even better than what he thought he might be getting."

King says Leicester's reaction to the defeat to Arsenal shows the strength of character within the squad and demonstrates why those who write them off are wrong.

"When the fixtures were drawn at the start of the season we thought December could be a really tough period for us if we didn't make a good start," he added. 

"We then lost to Arsenal and people thought 'is that it, is that them finished now?' and we've bounced back and now we're 10 unbeaten again, so we've got resilience and quality in depth which we can call upon when needed."