Pearson: Leicester still underdogs

The Foxes boss reckons they cannot consider themselves survival favourites, despite a good run-in, as long as they remain bottom of the Barclays Premier League.

They could escape the relegation zone for the first time since November if they beat Swansea by three goals at the King Power Stadium on Saturday and Burnley drop points at Everton.

Successive wins against West Ham and West Brom have reignited Leicester's survival hopes and they also face fellow strugglers Sunderland, Burnley and QPR in the race for safety, but Pearson believes they remain the outsiders.

"Maybe, yes, because we are at the bottom of the league," said the boss, who has a fully-fit squad. "I have been advised on what the bookies have said but we have still got to gain points on teams. It is really important that we keep our focus.

"If you can use it (being underdogs), great. It really is about dealing with the situation that you are in and then allowing the players to go out there without pressure. There is pressure, of course, but when the players take the field, they have got to go out there and perform.

"It is really important to try to keep the standards high, if not improve on them."

Pearson has come under fire this season after a foul-mouthed spat with a fan in December and a strange altercation with James McArthur, where he grappled with the Crystal Palace midfielder on the touchline in February.

Leicester have won just six league games all season and the Foxes boss was believed to be close to the sack in February before the club eventually backed him after intense speculation.

And the 51-year-old admits he has changed over the season, since winning the Sky Bet Championship with Leicester last May.

He said: "I may not be the right person to ask. I would suspect the answer would be yes, in certain ways. Hopefully for the better but you never know.

"Whatever you experience in life - whether you're a football manager or in the media - it's going to have some sort of effect on you, some subtle and some profound.

"We all like to think we have an unwavering belief in what you do but sometimes you have to ask tough questions of yourself and also have the recognition that some things which happen you may do differently next time. That's life. Football isn't different to anything else.

"You always learn. You make mistakes, you learn from them and move on. Some of the experiences you have I think reaffirm what you suspected or already knew. There are a mixture of those lessons."