23 April| "So, the job is almost done. The relief at Deepdale was obvious." | | Jon Barber, Sports Reporter |
So, the job is almost done. The relief at Deepdale was obvious. And Leicester's status as a Championship club was all but confirmed with Nils-Eric Johansson's first ever league goal. Now, they can secure next season's place by beating Barnsley on Saturday. Caretaker Nigel Worthington is already starting to put some things in place for the summer, with pre-season already booked in. Here Nigel's thoughts on what's ahead here: I also want to mention today the clubs academy. They beat Norwich 3-0 over the weekend, and have now won the FA Premier Academy Group B, and face Arsenal, who won Group A. A massive congratulations to Jon Rudkin and all at the academy at Belvoir Drive; it has been a great season for them. You can hear from Academy Director Jon Rudkin here: 02 AprilSo, the disappointing run continues, and until the Foxes regain some form, concerns about relegation remain. BBC Radio Leicester's Jon Barber spoke to City Manager Rob Kelly and Alan Maybury...The side should comfortably have enough to extinguish any worries of the drop, but as we reach "squeaky bum time", and the sides below City start to realise their peril, there will be a few nervous fans. Talking to Gerry Taggart at the weekend, we both agree that City have probably got more chance of collecting their first three points in six weeks when they face Derby County, rather than the trip to Plymouth on Bank Holiday Monday. Rob Kelly's team seem to perform better against the better opposition, and with the local rivalry that naturally surrounds the visit of the Rams, Leicester could do well. Derby have not been winning their games as convincingly as you would expect, and they will be probably more nervous going into the game. It is also true to say however, that if City play the way they have against Crystal Palace, QPR and Stoke, they could get beaten heavily. There was a lot of talk in the national press over the weekend that as many as 11 players will be leaving the club in the summer, as Milan Mandaric's rebuilding of the squad really starts. I will be surprised if the number of changes are that high, but clearly in the remaining seven games every single player will be trying to keep their place in the squad for next season's campaign. 19 MarchWatching Leicester City never seems to be the most relaxing pastime. When anyone new arrives at the club they are usually greeted with the phrase: "It's never dull here, mate!" I have found that very true in the last two years as a commentator on the club's fortunes. Just as you think that things are getting better, something turns up to bring you back down to earth. Just as we start to believe that the Milan Mandaric era couldn't be going any better, the side play the way they did against Crystal Palace and QPR. I thought the second-half performance at Selhurst Park was the worst I have commentated on. Now I think the second-half against QPR was even worse. BBC Leicester's Sport Reporter talks to Rob Kelly after the game...Someone said to me that I was overreacting and that they just got caught cold in the opening ten minutes and the game was over - that we shouldn't make too much out of it. Should the same be said then of the better performances this season? I have said that our Leicester City are an average Championship side in an average Championship. I think that is becoming ever more clear now, and if our dreams are to be realised there needs to be a massive number of additions to the squad. It will be a long couple of weeks at the training ground. A long couple of weeks for me too - I'm off on holiday! Speak to you after the Stoke game. 12 MarchQuite a few Leicester City fans will, like me, will have travelled around 500 miles in the last week in support of their team. They visited two of the most rundown grounds in the league, spent over £50 on tickets, and endured two pretty disappointing performances. The defeat by Crystal Palace though was the most difficult to take, as there was no drive or passion from the side. It felt like it was the last game of the season already. I think things will be very different for the visit of Dennis Wise to the Walkers Stadium. Leeds won at the weekend, but so did Southend and Hull, so they are still rock bottom in Championship, with just 10 games to go. My cruel streak seems to come out of me when it comes to Leeds United. I don't like to see the demise of any club normally (I would even like Nottingham Forest in the Championship, so we can beat them), but Leeds seem to have a superior arrogance about them. Six years ago they were in the Champions League semi final, now they look to be heading into the third division. How the mighty fall. And it will be one of the least favourite former Leicester players that looks to be taking them down. What a shame! Join Jon Barber on BBC Radio Leicester 104.9 FM for all Leicester City matches; the only station bringing you full commentary of EVERY Leicester City game, home and away. | 
