Pearson given three games to save his job

Nigel Pearson has been given three games to turn around the fortunes of ailing Leicester City or face the prospect of losing his job, Of Fosse and Foxes understands.

Under pressure: Nigel Pearson may be out of a job in a fortnight

A source close to the club insists that should Pearson's side fail to pick up the pace against Nottingham Forest, Southampton and Middlesbrough he could be removed from the Leicester hot-seat, with the Foxes then looking for their third manager of the season.

Fans made their opinions clear as Leicester went down 1-2 at home to Barnsley on Saturday afternoon, with jeers ringing around the King Power Stadium at full time. Chants of "Pearson, sort it out" were heard during the second half and there have already been calls from some supporters for his resignation.

The Foxes' manager has hit back at that news, however, laying blame squarely at the door of former Leicester boss Sven Goran Eriksson. The Swede spent millions assembling a supposedly talented squad to take the Championship by storm but, with Leicester lying a lowly fifteenth in the nPower Championship tonight, it is Pearson who now faces the wrath of angry Foxes' followers.

"You can make what you want of how Leicester City's squad has been constructed. To my mind, it is unbalanced," said Pearson following the Barnsley defeat, "It should not be about collecting players. I go about it with the aim of building a team that functions as a team.

"I was brought here as a replacement because presumably things weren't right as far as the owners and fans were concerned. I need to breathe fresh life into the situation, because this was our worst result so far. Keeper Kasper Schmeichel being our best player tells you all you need to know.

"I believe I know what is wrong. I believe I can put it right. Is it a bigger job than I anticipated? Are there problems I didn't anticipate? I am just glad to be back here, and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else."

Ruling-out big money moves, Pearson has nonetheless been keen to apply himself this January with a bid for Hull City's Cameron Stewart rejected and, despite acceptance of a reported £2 million for Doncaster Rovers' Billy Sharp, that player has rejected the chance of a move to the East Midlands leaving Pearson's squad as disjointed as it has been since August.

""My job is to improve the situation at the football club. I believe in building teams, I don't collect players. I'll be doing what I can to build a team here," continued the Foxes' manager, "I know exactly what is wrong with this football club and I'll be addressing that. It is a big job and I'll get it right."