Steve Cooper would have eyed Saturday’s home game against Everton as the perfect opportunity to get his first Premier League win as Leicester City manger.
However, it was not to be as Leicester City instead needed a 76th-minute Stephy Mavididi goal to salvage a point on a disappointing afternoon.
Steve Cooper knows that result will have done little to ease the pressure on him, with his Nottingham Forest affiliation meaning he already had a lot of work to do to win over large sections of the Leicester fanbase.
Foxes fans have been left uninspired by Cooper’s negative tactics so far this season but he did set Leicester up in a more attacking way against Everton as Bilal El Khannouss came in for Oliver Skipp for his first start since arriving this summer.
Leicester went behind as early as the 12th minute against the Toffees, which deflated the King Power crowd and this is something Cooper needs to find a solution to if he is to have any chance of keeping the club in the top flight.
Steve Cooper must find way to stop Leicester City conceding first
It took 64 minutes for Leicester to find an equaliser against a resolute Everton defence and it was far from a case of Cooper’s men hammering at the door either.
Mavididi did finally score after a defensive mix-up following a Harry Winks corner but that was one of just two shots on target Leicester mustered across the 90 minutes as they struggled to find a spark.
Cooper’s side have conceded in every game so far this season as they find themselves winless and on three points after five games, but more concerning is the tendency to go behind in games.
In their five league matches so far this season, Leicester have conceded first in four; the only exception being last weekend when they squandered a 2-0 lead against Crystal Palace.
It is difficult enough for Leicester to get points in the Premier League given the quality of opposition, so Cooper needs to find a way to stop his team giving their opponents a head-start on a weekly basis.
Clean sheets will be key to Leicester City Premier League hopes
The good news for Leicester is that they have been competitive in each of their fixtures since returning to the Premier League, losing 2-1 to Aston Villa and Fulham whilst drawing with Tottenham Hotspur, Palace and Everton.
No one has scored at will against Cooper’s men, but the next step is to start keeping clean sheets in order to significantly boost their survival chances.
Cooper seems to have settled on his favoured back four, with Wout Faes and Caleb Okoli the preferred centre-back partnership and James Justin and Victor Kristiansen at full-back.
That defence is set to be tested to the limits as Leicester face Arsenal in their next league match and if they can get anything from that game then it will be a real bonus ahead of facing Bournemouth.