'Don't feel sorry for anybody' - Van Nistelrooy accepts Foxes criticism

Ruud van Nistelrooy was appointed Leicester City manager on 29 November

Life as Leicester City manager has gone from bad to worse for Ruud van Nistelrooy.

The 2-0 loss to Fulham on Saturday was the Foxes' seventh top-flight league defeat on the spin - something that has happened just four times in their history.

Van Nistelrooy's decision to withdraw Bilal el Khannouss' in the second half was met with chants of "you don't know what you're doing", as the home support made their feelings known.

Shortly after, Adama Traore doubled Fulham's advantage - leading to boos and jeers from the Leicester fans as Van Nistelrooy looked on helplessly.

The 48-year-old, who replaced Steve Cooper at the end of November, said he had to "accept" the anger, with his side 19th in the table.

"I'm making substitutions to impact the game," said Van Nistelrooy. "It can be in different areas - physical, profile of a player, the opposition.

"When it's not received well for once now then I'll take that one. Because the crowd boo one substitution of me it doesn't mean I have to explain all the reasons behind the substitution.

"It's not for the public to know. It's respect to the players who come on. They are valuable members of the squad and deserve minutes to help this team as well. It's not about one person in this team and in this squad. That for me is very clear."

How bad is it for Van Nistelrooy?

Van Nistelrooy made a good start to his reign at the King Power Stadium with a 3-1 win over West Ham in December, but the cracks were also there to be seen.

The Hammers had 31 shots on goal in that game and Van Nistelrooy referenced the need to shore up his defence.

The Dutchman has attempted to bolster a leaky backline but the Foxes have now conceded 20 goals while scoring just four times in eight league games.

A 38-year-old Jamie Vardy continues to cut an isolated figure as a lone striker for a Leicester side who have scored just twice in their past seven games.

Just Mick McCarthy at Sunderland, Alan Ball at Manchester City, Jan Siewert at Huddersfield Town and Paul Jewell at Derby County have lost more games than Van Nistelrooy in their opening nine Premier League games.

Leicester now find themselves in murky waters in 19th place - two points adrift of safety despite having played a game more than Wolves in 17th.

Former manager Steve Cooper was given his marching orders after just 12 games in charge, despite only being beaten in five of those matches.

Van Nistelrooy issued a rallying cry despite the disappointing loss, saying: "Today was extremely disappointing because it wasn't good enough in all aspects of the game.

"I saw more [in the 2-0 loss to Crystal Palace] Wednesday than today. Of course results hurt and are disappointing, but today there was a lot more because we lacked in too many areas that influence on winning a football match.

"We have to deal with it. We cannot change it. We have to face it. Don't feel sorry for anybody. We are professionals and we have to deal with it.

"We have to make sure that we perform so the crowd is up and supportive. That's our task."

Ruud van Nistelrooy won three games in charge of Manchester United on an interim basis

'There is no internal panic just yet'

There is no panic just yet at Leicester, even if the results suggest freefall.

The fact the Foxes are not totally cut adrift despite losing seven successive games gives them hope and there is still a firm belief they can haul themselves out of trouble.

On Thursday, Van Nistelrooy spoke about how vital spirit and togetherness is and how he needs to remove the pressure from his players to allow them the freedom to play but he will need all of his managerial nous, still early on in his senior coaching career, to save Leicester.

A trip to fellow strugglers Everton on 1 February follows an away fixture at Tottenham and should the losing run continue Van Nistelrooy's position will naturally start to be called into question.

The loss to Fulham has left the head coach at his lowest point, just seven weeks into his reign.

Predecessor Cooper had been frustrated at trying to get the players to understand and implement his methods after they were so ingrained in Enzo Maresca's ways -which took them back into the Premier League last season.

That was part of Cooper's undoing but Van Nistelrooy wants to play in a similar way to his friend Maresca - who he played with at Malaga - so it is about re-transitioning to that style.

Whether Leicester are good enough to play that way in the Premier League remains up for debate, even though there have clearly been positive performances amid the defeats.