Leicester are going through the motions, Gary Neville tells Monday Night Football
Tuesday 14 February 2017 07:41, UK
Gary Neville says he is concerned for Leicester's Premier League future, claiming the champions are going through the motions after their 2-0 defeat to Swansea on Nissan Super Sunday.
Claudio Ranieri's side sit one place and one point above the relegation zone after a run of five straight defeats in the league.
Leicester currently sit bottom of the Premier League form guide for matches since January 2 and they are the only side in all four divisions in England to have failed to score in 2017.
Neville, speaking on Monday Night Football, insists Leicester's players, including England striker Jamie Vardy, need to start working harder or they are in big danger of becoming the first side since 1938 to be relegated from the top-flight the season after being crowned champions.
"They are going through the motions," Neville said. "They are in big, big trouble.
"I said last week Jamie Vardy's got to go back to being a non-league striker. He needs to work harder.
"With England I never had any complaints about him in terms of his work-rate. His work ethic was unbelievable; he's got to go back to being a non-league striker."
He added: "Danny Drinkwater and [Wilfred] Ndidi have to go back to protecting the back four. Robert Huth and Wes Morgan have got lead in their legs. They've got to try and push up the pitch a bit more but they've got to try and stay attached.
"Everything is bad for them at the moment. There's only one group of players in the league that I wouldn't want to be other than Leicester and that's Sunderland, who are also in big trouble.
"They've got to turn this around Leicester or else they could go down. I never thought that 10 days ago before watching them play Manchester United and Swansea."
Leicester boss Ranieri, whose side face Sevilla in the last 16 of the Champions League next week, admitted after Sunday's defeat he may have been too loyal to the players that won the Premier League last season.
Jamie Carragher agreed, claiming the Italian manager needs to make changes if Leicester are to avoid the drop.
"Ranieri has been too loyal," the former Liverpool defender said. "As a manager you go back to last season and you keep expecting those performances to come back.
"I said last week this is the norm. Even if Leicester stay up, I'd be expecting them to be fighting relegation again next season.
"If he keeps those players in against Sevilla and they play well, that will almost be an even bigger embarrassment than what they are doing now.
"It will show they are not having a go, they are not playing at the level they should be or putting the work rate in that they should be. He has to make changes otherwise, if they continue like that, they will go down."
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