Belfast boy Evans has been here before

If Leicester City were under any illusion as how tough the 2022-23 Premier League season was going to be, then the first month of said campaign delivered a rude awakening. The Foxes found themselves sleepwalking out of the blocks and towards a standing at the foot of the table.

With purse strings being tightened at the King Power Stadium, a side that secured a memorable title triumph back in 2016 finds itself enduring a rather humbling fall from grace. If a tide is going to be turned, then something needs to happen quickly.

Unfortunate

With an unfortunate number of points having slipped the net, football tips are already beginning to suggest that it could be a long, hard slog from here for a Leicester side that are priced at 15/8 to suffer relegation. Once a club finds itself stuck in a rut, it can be difficult to find a way out.

Brendan Rodgers has been around long enough to know that he is in a results business and that past achievements will count for little if he is unable to steady a ship that has sprung an alarming number of leaks.

Questions have been asked of how long change in the dugout can be put off once collection heads drop and those calling the shots in a coaching capacity fail to get their message across. One shred of comfort for Leicester is the fact that they boast plenty of experience in their ranks.

Jonny Evans is among those to slip seamlessly into the seasoned professional category, with the Northern Ireland international defender having been there, done it and got the t-shirt. He knows better than most how emotions and results in football can swing wildly from one extreme to the other.

He formed part of squads at Manchester United that claimed three Premier League titles and a Champions League crown, with close to 200 appearances taken in for the Red Devils. Life at the other end of a sporting spectrum has also been taken in.

Relegation battles were fought and won during loan spells at Sunderland, while a three-year stint at West Bromwich Albion delivered more of the same. It was during that stint at The Hawthorns that Evans found himself dragged into a situation that will be feeling all too familiar at present.

Back in 2017-18, the Baggies never got going and found themselves locked in a survival scrap as a result. There was to be no happy ending to that tale, with Evans & Co finishing rock-bottom as a tumble through a trapdoor that leads into the Championship was taken.

Faults

If Leicester are unable to address their faults in the present, then they could find themselves heading down the same path as Midlands neighbours. Nobody is going to be doing them any favours, with rivals relishing any opportunity to edge domestic foes a little closer to the brink of disaster.

Belfast boy Evans has been here before and knows all too well how it feels to lose a standing among the elite. That is not an experience that he will want to repeat and it is up to him, especially as club captain, to ensure that a corner is turned before it becomes too late.