Leicester City interim boss Dean Smith has confirmed he will not watch any of his team's relegation rivals in action ahead of their do-or-die showdown at Newcastle United. The Foxes sit two points adrift of safety with only two games remaining, and could be relegated with defeat at St James' Park on Monday night if results elsewhere go against them.
Leicester suffered a heavy home defeat to in-form Liverpool in their last outing, and will take to the pitch on Tyneside knowing the state of play at the bottom. Everton travel to face Wolves on Saturday afternoon, with Nottingham Forest hosting Arsenal in the televised evening kick-off.
Leeds will then be hoping to capitalise on a European hangover when the take on West Ham at the London Stadium on Sunday afternoon. The odds are against the Foxes repeating their great escape act from eight years ago, and Smith does not see the benefit of watching any of their relegation rivals in action.
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Speaking at his pre-match press conference on Thursday, Smith told the Leicester Mercury: “The only game I’ll be watching closely is Newcastle [against Brighton] tonight. It may affect what we need to do, but I don’t need to watch the games, I just need to follow the results.”
The mood around the King Power Stadium has darkened in recent weeks, with supporters seemingly giving up hope of survival following the 3-0 home loss to Liverpool. Asked if this pessimism has 'filtered' through to the team, Smith answered: “It hasn’t filtered in at all.
"We are in a position we don’t want to be in. My job hasn’t changed. We’re still in the positions we were. It was going to be tough to get points from Man City and Liverpool. That’s why the Fulham one has hurt us the most.”
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