Leicester City boss Enzo Maresca faced a number of challenging questions last night after his side fell to a 1-0 defeat to relegation-threatened Millwall.
It was a dull affair decided by a wondergoal from Ryan Longman, who stood up Harry Winks before cutting inside to curl home a spectacular effort.
There was absolutely nothing Mads Hermansen could’ve done about it, though, Wout Faes must take much of the blame for giving the ball away which led to the counterattack.
The good feeling was back amongst The Foxes faithful heading into the clash, having put together two wins in two.
Many felt a corner had been turned, following a tricky few weeks, but the same problems reemerged once more.
That led a reporter to ask whether Leicester have a ‘mentality issue’.
Enzo Maresca defends Leicester City players against ‘mentality issue’ claim
It was a bitterly disappointing evening last night for the East Midlanders, who missed the chance to go four points clear of third-placed Leeds United, who were held to a goalless draw against Sunderland.
Maresca was asked whether his side had a ‘mentality issue’, given they’d won the last two games when sat in third and lost the last two when at the summit.
“No, no, I don’t think so. Also, I’m serious, if you watch the table yesterday, and you watch tonight, and you watch again in two days, you get crazy,” the former Manchester City assistant said.
“You know you have to think game by game and wins games. That’s it.”
The Italian appeared to suggest that his players weren’t looking at the table, which in essence rubbished that claim.
However, they indeed would’ve been well aware of their position prior to kick-off, so perhaps they did feel that little extra pressure.
READ MORE: Leicester City player ratings v Millwall
Leicester City players need to show their character
City don’t have much time at all to dwell on Tuesday’s result, with a trip to Plymouth Argyle on Friday fast approaching.
With critics now doubting their mentality, now is the perfect opportunity to show character and silence their doubters, as Stephy Mavididi eluded to last week.
- READ MORE: Stephy Mavididi wants to ‘shut people up’
A win at Plymouth would do just that and it would move them to 91 points, with four games of the season remaining.
They simply can’t afford to slip up and have to show a reaction, just like they did following the 1-0 defeat at Bristol City’s Ashton Gate.