Leicester boss Nigel Pearson insists there is no need for any negativity around his side despite them dropping into the bottom three.

The Foxes visit St Mary’s tomorrow with the former Saints manager hoping for an upturn in fortunes after picking up just one point in their last five games.

“Dropping into the bottom three has not visibly affected the group,” he said.

“The margins are small and the difference between us and midtable is not great. There is no real reason for negativity.

“We are well aware of where we are at the moment and what we need to do to progress.

“The bottom line is the players have performed pretty well. We’ve not always picked up results that maybe our performances have warranted.

“We have only had one poor performance and have been in most games. We need to change losing positions into draws and draws into wins.”

Pearson could recall star striker and club record signing Leonardo Ulloa as he looks set to overcome a groin strain, and the ex-Saints boss insists he is not under any increased pressure despite Leicester’s league position.

“I’m under no more pressure than any other week, whether it is this year, last year or any other year,” he said.

“The pressure I’m under is the pressure I put on myself. If that is the case it is all pretty ludicrous.

“I have to continue to manage people’s expectations through hysteria and depression. It seems to be one or the other.

“My expectations are pretty realistic. The goals we have for our group of players remains the same.

“I want us to maximise our own ability. I’m not measuring our performance against other team’s capabilities.

“I’m measuring it against what I know we’re capable of and what I know needs to be us meeting the demands of the Premier League.

“I’m not going to waste any time getting involved in the fluctuations of other people’s emotional states.”