Leicester City need faster points return to reach promotion target

Leicester City supporters hoping for an immediate Championship return face a gap between the club’s promotion ambition and its results. As of Wednesday 4 November, City are tenth in League One, with 19 points after 13 matches.

The owners privately set a target of around 90 points for the season, according to Leicester Mercury, hoping that would secure a place back in the second tier. Leaders Huddersfield Town are already nine points ahead of Leicester.

What City need from the remaining games

To reach 90, Russell Martin’s team must collect another 71 points across their remaining 33 fixtures. That requires roughly 2.15 points a game, compared with the 1.46 they have managed so far.

Maintaining their season-long rate would bring an estimated further 48 points and a finishing total of around 67. The Mercury’s assessment is that this would leave City well short of a play-off place.

Recent results offer a stronger basis for their promotion hopes: Leicester have won three of their past five matches. Sustaining that improvement, rather than their overall return so far, is the task for the rest of the campaign.

Martin still expects a promotion challenge

Speaking in October, Martin said he believed City would finish where they wanted to be, but acknowledged that wins were needed to build confidence in that ambition.

He praised how staff, players and the club’s leadership had handled extensive change, while expressing frustration at the points total. Martin said: “But also we’re not far away from where we need to be at all and we need to start getting there.”

Source: Leicester Mercury