Leicester must hold their nerve as Rodgers faces third-season syndrome | Jonathan Wilson

There are problems at the King Power but the Foxes’ poor form may not be due to suggestions that the manager is stagnating

There was a rumour this past week that Brendan Rodgers had been sacked as manager of Leicester City. It turned out not to be true, but the fact it seemed so believable was telling. The improved performance against West Ham – when they were denied victory only by a late equaliser that prompted one of football’s increasingly frequent epistemological debates: what is a hand? – has perhaps calmed the situation before Sunday’s game against Wolves, but the pressure is real enough.

Rodgers may have twice taken Leicester to fifth in the Premier League (with the ninth-highest wage bill) and won the FA Cup only last season, but the discontent at the King Power has been palpable. It was this week five years ago that Leicester sacked Claudio Ranieri, who had led them to the title the season before. Then perhaps a change could be justified as a sad necessity to head off the threat of relegation. But that is not a realistic possibility this season, even if Leicester’s run without a domestic win now extends to five games, including that humiliating FA Cup defeat by Nottingham Forest.