Leicester City man issues rallying call amid 'tough' period as Leeds United pressure tells

Leicester City defender James Justin admits it has been a tough period for his side but insists they will come out swinging after the international break.

Leicester dropped points for the fourth time in five games on Saturday after drawing 2-2 at playoff-chasing Hull City. The Foxes have seen a 17-point gap at the top of the Championship slim to just three in less than a month, with Leeds United hot on their heels after beating Sheffield Wednesday 2-0 on Friday.

With Enzo Maresca's side in FA Cup action next weekend, their clash against Southampton has been postponed and so Leeds could go top if they beat Millwall by more than two goals on Sunday. It would place Leicester in an unfamiliar position as chasers but Justin hopes the rest can revitalise their promotion push.

“I feel like it was a tightly contested game,” Justin told Leicester’s in-house media team of Saturday's draw. “It’s tough when we’re fighting and losing points but all we can do is move to the next game. Sometimes it’s difficult when you’re in the heat of the moment. We’ve just got to keep going with our plan. 

“Some of the challenges flying in, which you know you're going to get at this level, and you've got to be prepared for that. And for that, we battled really well under the circumstances, and we'll walk away with a point. A draw is not the worst thing for us in the end.

“We move on to next weekend, go back to the drawing board and get ready for the FA Cup. And then after the international break, we'll come back firing. We've done a lot of travelling now over the last week of two difficult away trips and it will be nice to get a week to recover.”

Leeds were able to maintain their status as Leicester's closest rivals after seeing Ipswich Town lose in dramatic circumstances at Cardiff City. Kieran McKenna's side were 1-0 up going into second-half added-time but conceded twice to lose at the death.

Southampton rode out some discomfort to beat Sunderland 4-2 but remain six points away from Daniel Farke's side, albeit having played a game less. They will also not play next weekend, having been due to face Leicester, while Ipswich host Sheffield Wednesday.