Such is the lack of appetite to watch this Leicester City team in action, the away ticket allocation for this week’s trip to Manchester City was slashed by half.
With City on a run of 13 defeats in 14 games, needing to overcome a deficit of nine points in order to survive, and having not scored a single Premier League goal in their last six outings, it is understandable that fans would be put off a midweek trip to Manchester.
Even among those who are travelling to the north west, it feels safe to say that many won’t quite share the enthusiasm that Ruud van Nistelrooy does for this Wednesday’s fixture.
The City manager has told his players that if they're not looking forward to taking on the four-in-a-row champions, then “there’s something wrong with you”.
Speaking at his press conference, van Nistelrooy said: “We know we have one target and that’s to perform for every second that we’re in this league, whatever the circumstances are, whatever the situation in the table is.
“That’s what we were doing and will continue doing. That won’t change.
“We have a great run of games. It’s a privilege to be able to plan games against Man City, Newcastle, Brighton and Liverpool, our four coming games. I see it as a privilege.
“We know we’re in a battle. The players are doing absolutely everything they can to be the best they can be together with me and the staff. They will continue to do so. It’s a great challenge.
“Can you imagine you’re a player and you can play Manchester City away, what the feeling will be? Okay, we’re in a battle, but everybody is looking forward to these games.
“These are the four-time Premier League winners. They’ve been the dominant force for many years now. When you’re not looking forward to these games, then there’s something wrong with you.”
Van Nistelrooy’s assessment of the next three weeks perhaps marks a change in approach. Perhaps he’s trying to force his players to not take their Premier League status for granted.
Because it’s not like playing against Pep Guardiola’s Man City is a new experience for many of the squad. Other than for a handful of players who are new to English football, like Bilal El Khannouss, Mads Hermansen, and Caleb Okoli, there won’t be a novelty to this fixture.
But maybe that’s van Nistelrooy’s point. Maybe it should be more greatly appreciated to be able to play against Man City. Maybe it should be, as van Nistelrooy describes it, a “privilege”.
Maybe he’s trying to create a sense of occasion about the fixture that raises the players’ performance levels.
But his words could also be interpreted another way. Perhaps it’s an attempt to relieve the pressure on his players’ shoulders.
He now says the “one target” is “to perform for every second that we’re in this league”. It feels like a subtle nod to the very slim chances City have of survival.
City are expected to go down, so why not go out there and enjoy these fixtures while they still have the chance?
Without being hyper-focused on what their actions mean for City’s points tally and their standing in the Premier League table, players might relax.
It might decrease the pressure on their shoulders, lessening the mistakes made in defence and reducing the likelihood of players snatching at a shot in attack.
City need to do take a different mentality into matches, because whatever they have been doing so far has not been working.
Hopefully van Nistelrooy's latest message will pay off in the form of City giving themselves a fighting chance of a miracle, or at the very least mean they go down with more dignity that they are currently doing.
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