Claude Puel has a battle on his hands to prove to Leicester City that he is the right man to lead the club into next season, amid growing unease about his management style and the poor run of results that has led to the first signs of supporter unrest.

Leicester have won only four of their past 17 league matches and there is growing concern within the club that they are in danger of heading into a critical summer, when there is expected to be a significant turnover of players. The final four games of the campaign – against Crystal Palace, West Ham, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur – could be critical in terms of whether Leicester decide to persevere with Puel.

Leicester mood sours as Claude Puel’s methods come under increased scrutiny Read more

Although Leicester would want to avoid making another managerial change if possible – Puel was appointed as Craig Shakespeare’s successor in October – the second half of the season has fallen well short of expectations and it is also clear the Frenchman’s approach to the job has gone down badly among some of the playing squad.

The Guardian reported this month that players have been left bemused by Puel’s chopping and changing of the team, not least because it is not his style to explain the thinking behind his decisions to those who are left out, and that have also been questions over the intensity of his training sessions. A lack of communication is understood to be an issue across the board, with Puel described as distant.

The supporters made their thoughts clear last Thursday at the end of an uninspiring 0-0 draw against Southampton, a result which was greeted with loud booing as Leicester dropped points at home for the fifth game in succession, with three of those opponents now in the bottom four.

Leicester plodded their way through the Southampton game and created next to nothing, yet afterwards Puel described the performance as “good” and is understood to have said in the dressing room at half-time that the display was “perfect”.

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There is a feeling at Leicester that seventh place and Europa League qualification was up for grabs this season, even after getting off to a poor start, but the bad run since winning 4‑1 at Southampton in December has put paid to those hopes and means that a club who invested heavily last summer – they spent the best part of £80m to bring in Adrien Silva, Vicente Iborra, Kelechi Iheanacho and Harry Maguire – are now treading water in mid-table.

With their ambitious owners determined to keep pushing the club on, Leicester are expected to invest heavily again in the close season, especially as there is an acceptance that the squad needs a major overhaul, with half a dozen players set to move on and Riyad Mahrez’s future in doubt.

Puel, who lost his job as Southampton manager last summer, needs to demonstrate between now and the end of the season that he can be trusted to oversee that rebuilding programme.