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Manchester City v West Ham: Pellegrini calls for unity
17 April 2015
Under-pressure Manuel Pellegrini has called for Manchester City to show unity in their Premier League clash with West Ham amid an injury crisis and an alarming slump in form.
Champions City have lost six of their last eight games in all competitions and have fallen out of the title race as a result.
Pellegrini's men sit 12 points adrift of league leaders Chelsea following a 4-2 defeat to arch-rivals Manchester United last weekend, a result that only served to increase the speculation over the Chilean's future at the club.
Rumours of soon to be ex-Borussia Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp taking over at the Etihad Stadium have not helped matters, and now Pellegrini must look to bounce back from the loss at Old Trafford with a number of big names on the sidelines.
Captain Vincent Kompany is in danger of missing the rest of the season with a muscle injury, while Gael Clichy (groin), Stevan Jovetic, Wilfried Bony and James Milner have all been ruled out.
Belgian defender Dedryck Boyata could be in contention to feature, though, after being declared fit following a knee injury.
And former Real Madrid and Malaga coach Pellegrini said: "It's more important than ever to have the fans, the players and the staff together as one. We are one club.
"My pressure is always the same, to win every game for this team to play in the way I like the team to play.
"Last year there was more pressure when we were fighting for the title. The pressure is for us to recover our normal performance and that's not the same as fighting for the title."
West Ham, meanwhile, will be without Diafra Sakho due to a thigh injury sustained in the 1-1 draw with Stoke City last weekend, joining James Tomkins (shoulder) and Andy Carroll (knee) on the sidelines.
After witnessing City's dip in form, West Ham boss Sam Allardyce is keen for his players to put a team who may be looking over their shoulder at Liverpool in the race for the top four under further pressure.
"I'm very surprised that Manchester City have lost four away games on the trot," Allardyce said. "I think that's a huge shock across the football world based on the amount of talent they have. Like ourselves, they can't seem to find a way to win recently.
"I watched them against Crystal Palace and I thought they defended brilliantly after they scored but generally Manchester City are exceptionally good at breaking down defences.
"Hopefully we can test their nerve, at home they are usually very good so we know how tough it'll be."
Mourinho: Pellegrini and Manchester City are not criminals who should be sent to hell
By Tom Maston
Apr 18, 2015 09:51:00
The Etihad Stadium outfit have slipped 12 points behind the Blues in the race for the Premier League title, but the Portuguese feels the criticism they have received is unfair
Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has launched a staunch defence of Manuel Pellegrini and Manchester City, claiming they deserve better than to be portrayed as "criminals" who should be sent to "hell".
The Premier League champions have slipped 12 points behind the Blues following a poor run of results and are in danger of missing out on a place in next season's Champions League.
But Mourinho feels it is unfair how City and Pellegrini are being lambasted by the media, given their successes in recent years.
“I’m not surprised by City’s form, because it can happen to anyone," he told reporters. "What I'm surprised about is that a team that won two [Premier League] titles in three years, a team that are still champions and won two trophies last season, you can bring this team to hell.
“It looks like they don’t deserve respect, that they are bad players, that the manager is a bad manager, that they are a disaster. But they are the champions. I don’t understand.
“On one hand, you want that competitiveness in this country - you don’t like a team to win two titles in a row, a team to be *dominant, you want lots of teams fighting for the title. So how can you be so negative with a team that’s won two titles in three years?
"OK, they won’t win this title this year, but they did last year. Some managers cannot win and life goes on, but the guys at Man City... it looks like they’re criminals.
"I feel it’s amazing. You [City] are the champions and people are already pushing you. It’s a big contradiction."
‘Give them bread and water, not Cristal and lobster’ - Mourinho attacks FA delegates
By Tom Maston
Apr 18, 2015 07:54:00
The Portuguese believes those sent to evaluate the performances of match officials spend too much time enjoying the Stamford Bridge catering rather than watching the action
Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has hit out at the Football Association (FA) and their delegates who are sent to monitor referees during matches.
According to the Premier League's Fair Play table, the Blues are ranked as the worst side in terms of respecting officials.
But Mourinho believes those sent to matches by FA spend too much time enjoying the catering at Stamford Bridge rather than taking in the action.
And he singled out Steve Greaves, who opted not to overturn the decision to send off Nemanja Matic against Burnley in February, for particular criticism.
"No these figures don’t surprise me, because these delegates are the same delegates who do the evaluation of the referees’ performances, and that I read every week," he told reporters.
"It depends on the food and the drinks. We have to change the catering because many, many times they don’t see the games. Really. I think they stay eating and drinking.
"The only one I met was the phenomenal guy who made the report on the Matic situation. And that one, for sure, had sushi, lobster - everything. Champagne of high quality. Cristal. Everything.
“We have the best catering and the best drink. We should give them bread and water."
Mourinho has previously stated that there is a campaign against his side from match officials, but he insists he is not worried by his side's poor disciplinary record.
"It’s not true [that Chelsea disrespect match officials]. I know that [when] a lie [is] repeated and repeated, there is a risk for it to become true in people’s eyes," he added.
"But I disagree. I think a lie is a lie. No problem.
"Are you are trying to tell me that the [Fair Play] table is going to reduce points in relation to the real table, and that somehow somebody is going to take 10 points off us! Instead of 73, we’d have 63. This is what you’re trying to tell me?"
Hart: Manchester City players have let Pellegrini down
By Tom Maston
Apr 17, 2015 23:34:00
The Premier League champions have fallen 12 points behind leaders Chelsea but the England international feels his manager could not have done any more to change it
Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart feels Manuel Pellegrini's squad have let their manager down this season.
The Premier League champions have fallen away in the quest to defend their title, with City now fourth in the table and 12 points behind leaders Chelsea having played a game more than Jose Mourinho's side.
And England international Hart feels it is the players, not the under-fire manager, who are to blame for their poor results.
"That's a team of winners," Hart told Sky Sports. "When you don't win, it's going to be difficult. We want to win, we've got high standards.
"People have been disappointed in their own performances, we've let the manager down a few times in certain games and we've baffled ourselves a little bit because we feel like we've got the quality to beat anyone and that's not been the case.
"[Pellegrini] has got principles that we work to, that we train to and, like I say, we've let him down a few times in that case."
Pellegrini's future has come under the spotlight in recent weeks, and reports of him being close to the sack have intensified following the news that Jurgen Klopp will leave Borussia Dortmund at the end of the campaign.
But Hart believes the Blues could not have asked for more from their manager as they look to finish the season on a high.
"[Pellegrini] has been great. He's hard, he kind of says it how it is and you can't ask for much more than that from a manager.
"He obviously has the underlying goal that we've got a season to complete and we need to stick together and we need to work hard.
"I think he understands we've all got the same goals, we all want to achieve and we're going to work together as a unit, as players and staff to finish the season well."
Hazard can reach Cristiano Ronaldo's level, says Ferreira
By Chris Davie
Apr 17, 2015 23:00:00
The former Chelsea defender admits the pair are different players but believes the Belgium international can become the best in the world
Former Chelsea defender Paulo Ferreira believes Eden Hazard can reach the same level as Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Belgium international has been a pivotal figure in Chelsea's Premier League title campaign this season, with 12 goals and eight assists in 31 appearances.
And Ferreira, who made over 200 appearances for the Blues, insists Hazard is on the right track to become the world's best player.
"They are different players in my opinion but if he keeps doing like he's doing he has a good chance to reach that level as well," Ferreira told talkSPORT.
"I'm very pleased to have a player like him. This is the type of player you need in the squad, doing very well in every game and helping the team.
Crystal Palace 0 West Brom 2: Pulis makes winning return to Selhurst Park
18 April 2015
Craig Gardner scored a stunning long-range goal as West Brom beat Crystal Palace 2-0 on Tony Pulis' return to Selhurst Park to secure their first away win in the Premier League since November.
Pulis quit as Palace manager just two days before the start of this season after keeping them in the top flight last term, and the Welshman marked his first game back at his former club with a long-awaited victory on the road.
Palace went into Saturday's game on the back of four consecutive wins and were big favourites to beat an Albion side who had lost their last three games, but an early strike from James Morrison set the tone for a surprise win.
Gardner then got in on the act with a thumping right-footed drive after the break and there was no way back for Alan Pardew's men.
Three points moves West Brom above Newcastle United into 13th place and deals a blow to Palace's hopes of finishing in the top half.
Joe Ledley was recalled to the Palace starting line-up at the expense of Pape Souare, who dropped to the bench.
Brown Ideye had been a doubt for West Brom due to a knock sustained in training and the striker was only named among the substitutes, with Victor Anichebe replacing him.
Albion had scored just one goal in their previous four away games, but they took less than two minutes to break the deadlock as an unmarked Morrison evaded Jason Puncheon to head home Chris Brunt's corner.
Anichebe was enraged when he went down under a challenge from Mile Jedinak 15 minutes in but referee Jonathan Moss opted not to point to the penalty spot.
Palace started to get into their stride and they also felt aggrieved when Gardner jumped into Wilfried Zaha but once again referee Moss saw nothing untoward.
Yannick Bolasie was this week valued at £20million by Pardew and the winger's price tag may have soared even higher had his acrobatic overhead kick not been palmed away by Boaz Myhill as Palace remained on the front foot.
Pardew reacted to his side's first-half display by replacing Jedinak and Ledley with Dwight Gayle and Souare at the break.
However, the home side were two goals down eight minutes into the second half courtesy of a stunning strike from Gardner.
The midfielder took a touch after a corner had not been properly cleared and then let fly with a sublime right-footed strike from 25 yards which flew past Julian Speroni and found the far corner of the net.
Gayle somehow failed to convert a fine cross from Souare three minutes later and Bolasie felt his goal-bound strike was handled as Palace's frustration mounted.
Substitute Yaya Sanogo had a late goal ruled out for offside for the hosts before Glenn Murray somehow volleyed wide from close range with an effort that summed up a frustrating afternoon for Palace.
Kevin Mirallas' first-half strike secured a 1-0 win over Burnley to extend Everton's unbeaten Premier League run to five and send Burnley to the bottom of the Premier League table.
Everton started well, and were given a golden chance to take the lead when David Jones fouled Aaron Lennon, but Tom Heaton got down low to parry away Ross Barkley's poor effort.
Sean Dyche's side continued to live dangerously though, and they were made to pay when Mirallas fired the hosts ahead midway through the first-half.
Burnley had shown signs of a comeback as the opening half wore on, but matters were made much more difficult for them when Ashley Barnes was dismissed for a second bookable offence moments before the interval.
James McCarthy wasted a great opportunity to put the hosts further ahead after the restart, with Leighton Baines also testing Heaton as Everton continued to dominate.
Burnley frontman Danny Ings also spurned a late chance as his goalless run stretched to eight games – with Leicester City's triumph against Swansea City meaning the Lancashire outfit slumped to 20th place.
In-keeping with their recent good form, Roberto Martinez's men were fast out the blocks, with Barkley and Lennon both looking sharp, and that early pressure should have proved fruitful 10 minutes in when Jones brought down the latter just inside the area.
Despite regular penalty taker Baines being on the pitch, it was Barkley who stepped up, and the midfielder's effort was kept out by Heaton, low to his right.
Lennon fired a warning shot just past Heaton's right-hand upright as Everton continued to press and the Tottenham loanee was at the heart of things as they took the lead, driving through midfield before the ball was worked for Mirallas to prod home at the second time of asking.
Jones blazed over the bar with Burnley's first effort of note just three minutes later, but any Burnley comeback was stunted by a moment of madness by Barnes – already on a booking for a clumsy tackle on McCarthy – as he needlessly slid in on Coleman on the stroke of half-time, earning his marching orders.
The hosts were lucky not to be a man down themselves five minutes after the break, Mirallas escaping with just a booking for a studs-first lunge on George Boyd.
McCarthy should have doubled Everton's advantage just prior to the hour-mark but he drilled into the side-netting after being fed by the vibrant Lennon before Heaton smartly denied Baines' piledriver.
Ings headed over with five minutes remaining as the visitors finally mustered an attempt, but Everton held firm to secure their fourth win in five league fixtures.
Stoke City 2 Southampton 1: Adam strike snatches victory
18 April 2015
Substitute Charlie Adam came off the bench to devastating effect to give Stoke City a 2-1 victory over Southampton in the Premier League.
Two weeks after his sensational 55-yard strike against Chelsea, the midfielder fired home from much closer range six minutes from time to seal all three points for Mark Hughes' side at the Britannia Stadium.
Morgan Schneiderlin had given Southampton the lead midway through the first half after some questionable Stoke defending from a set-piece and Graziano Pelle could have doubled their advantage before the break.
Stoke were level minutes after the restart, though, as Mame Biram Diouf netted his ninth league goal of the season after Kelvin Davis had misjudged a Steven N'Zonzi cross.
With a point only enough to take them above Liverpool into fifth on goal difference, Southampton pushed for a later winner, but their efforts proved fruitless.
Instead, it was Stoke who made the breakthrough, Adam delivering a blow to Southampton's hopes of securing European football with a neat finish from 10 yards.
It was the hosts who began the brighter with Stephen Ireland and Diouf – two of Stoke's three changes - threatening in the final third, but there was no repeat of the dream start they enjoyed in this fixture last season, when goalkeeper Asmir Begovic scored with just 13 seconds gone.
The visitors – who welcomed back Dusan Tadic – slowly began to settle and Pelle went agonisingly close to breaking the deadlock after 16 minutes.
Sadio Mane spun away from Glenn Whelan 25 yards from goal and played a neat pass into the Italian striker, who controlled the ball perfectly only for his right-footed effort to ripple the side-netting.
Southampton did not have to wait long for the opening goal, though, as poor Stoke defending from a corner gifted Schneiderlin his fourth in the league this season after 22 minutes.
Sloppy marking allowed the Frenchman to ghost in unmarked at the back post to poke home, the 25-year-old tapping in Jose Fonte's front-post flick from a yard out.
Although Stoke continued to press, they lacked a real cutting edge and Hughes' side were nearly punished on the half hour as Pelle again found space, but his low effort was easily saved by Begovic.
Ronald Koeman's side saw their advantage disappear two minutes after the restart as Diouf dragged Stoke level, albeit in bizarre circumstances.
N'Zonzi's miscued cross looped over Kelvin Davis before striking the crossbar, the loose ball fell to Diouf and he had the simple task of firing into an unguarded net.
Having fought hard to restore parity a moment of madness from Begovic nearly saw Stoke fall behind again on the hour, the goalkeeper racing out to meet Mane on the right-edge of his penalty area.
The Senegal international turned away from Begovic and played a low centre to Tadic, but his effort was superbly kept out by Whelan on the line.
Adam - a half-time substitute - made Southampton rue that miss as he completed Stoke's second-half comeback, the Scot finding space inside a crowded penalty area to fire past Davis.
To add further disappointment to Southampton's day, defender Toby Alderweireld left the pitch on a stretcher in stoppage time with a shoulder injury.
Leicester City 2 Swansea City 0: Hosts´ survival hopes boosted with third win in a row
18 April 2015
Leicester City climbed off the foot of the Premier League for the first time since November with their third win in a row - a 2-0 victory over Swansea City at the King Power Stadium.
The hosts' chances of top-flight survival appeared to be fading until back-to-back wins against West Ham and West Brom offered cause for optimism.
Hopes of extending that run appeared to have suffered a blow when striker David Nugent pulled up with a calf injury in the warm-up on Saturday.
However, replacement Leonardo Ulloa answered the call by opening the scoring after 15 minutes, before Andy King pounced to double the lead with a minute left to play.
As a result, Leicester climbed to 18th – still inside the relegation zone but only on goal difference.
Swansea, meanwhile, looked like a team with little to play for and their wait for the point that will see them break their record Premier League tally of 47 goes on.
Visiting manager Garry Monk had more time than opposite number Nigel Pearson to consider his attacking options after Bafetimbi Gomis suffered a hamstring injury in last weekend's 1-1 draw with Everton. The Swansea boss opted to hand Nelson Oliveira just a second league start.
But, despite the late withdrawal of Nugent, it was the home side who started brightest and took a deserved lead in the 15th minute.
The Swansea defence failed to deal with a Marcin Wasilewski punt into the box and Ulloa was on hand to drive a shot into the bottom left-hand corner after being teed up by Wes Morgan.
Wayne Routledge chipped over goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel into the Leicester net soon afterwards but the assistant referee’s flag had already been raised for offside, with television replays suggesting an extremely tight call.
Leicester continued to press, with Marc Albrighton curling a shot just wide, before Swansea finally began to show signs of life with 25 minutes on the clock – Jonjo Shelvey firing their first real chance high and wide.
Albrighton and Andrej Kramaric went close to extending Leicester's lead with early second-half efforts, while Shelvey continued to look Swansea's most potent threat at the other end, drawing a diving save from Schmeichel.
The Dane had to be alert as the second half progressed, denying Oliveira and and Shelvey in quick succession shortly after the hour mark as Swansea pressed for a leveller, while substitute Jefferson Montero's strike deflected wide a few moments later.
From the resulting corner, Leicester launched a rapid counter-attack, but Riyad Mahrez was unable to execute his attempted chipped finish, before Jamie Vardy saw claims for a penalty following a clumsy Ashley Williams challenge waved away.
Mahrez then forced Lukasz Fabianski to tip the ball around the post following a 20-yard strike late on, but King wrapped up the points when Fabianski dropped the ball into his path from Esteban Cambiasso's free-kick.
Chelsea 1 Manchester United 0: Hazard puts leaders 10 points clear
18 April 2015
Eden Hazard's 18th goal of the season ensured Chelsea took another giant stride towards winning the Premier League title by beating Manchester United 1-0 to move 10 points clear at the top of the table.
Hazard demonstrated why he is a strong favourite to be crowned the PFA Player of the Year when he rounded off a slick move with a clinical finish to give Chelsea the lead during a first half in which they were distinctly unimpressive.
Wayne Rooney, moved back into a midfield role, wasted a great early chance when he fired into the side-netting and Radamel Falcao struck the woodwork as United missed the chance to move above Arsenal into second place.
Louis van Gaal's side remain on course to secure a place in the UEFA Champions League with five games remaining, but any slight hopes they may have had of winning the title are surely gone after their six-game winning league run came to an end at Stamford Bridge.
Victory for Chelsea stretched their unbeaten run to 14 games in all competitions and there appears to be no stopping Jose Mourinho's men in their quest to secure a first Premier League title for five years.
Kurt Zouma and Oscar came into Chelsea's starting line-up at the expense of Brazil duo Willian and Ramires, who dropped to the bench.
Falcao made his first start since February for United, while Luke Shaw also returned to the starting line-up along with Paddy McNair, as Michael Carrick, Daley Blind and Phil Jones were ruled out due to injury.
Rooney had a great opportunity to open the scoring after only three minutes when Shaw cut the ball back and the England captain fired into the side-netting.
David de Gea clearly thought Rooney had scored as he celebrated with clenched fists at the other end, and the Spain goalkeeper ought to have had another moment to forget when he handled Cesc Fabregas' cross just outside the area, but the officials did not spot his infringement.
De Gea had very little to do in the first half, but he was picking the ball out of the net when Hazard opened the scoring out of the blue eight minutes before half-time.
Falcao was robbed of possession by John Terry on the halfway line and Fabregas picked out Oscar, whose clever backheel set Hazard free and the winger surged into the area before firing under De Gea with his left foot.
Didier Drogba almost doubled Chelsea's lead early in the second half when he raced away and went close with a deflected shot that looped over De Gea and Hazard arrived beyond the back post to hit the crossbar from a tight angle.
Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois palmed away a stinging drive from McNair on the hour mark and Juan Mata was denied an equaliser against his former club with an effort that looped just over the crossbar.
There would be no further chances for the Spain midfielder, who was given a great reception by both sets of fans when he replaced by Angel Di Maria.
Van Gaal opted against bringing on Robin van Persie, back on the bench after two months out, and United were unable to break down a stubborn Chelsea side.
Ander Herrera was booked for simulation after going down in the area late on and that proved to be the last action, as Chelsea celebrated another hard-earned victory that means a positive result against Arsenal next weekend would leave them just one win from the title.
'I love winning like that' - Mourinho taunts Man Utd
By Alex Young
Apr 18, 2015 21:22:00
The visitors boasted 70.3 per cent possession only to fall to Eden Hazard's first-half strike at Stamford Bridge in the 1-0 result
Jose Mourinho claims he "loves" winning with less than a third of possession after Chelsea edged to a 1-0 win over Manchester United.
United enjoyed over 70 per cent possession at Stamford Bridge but were put to the sword by Eden Hazard's first-half strike as the Blues opened up a 10-point lead at the top of the Premier League table.
When asked by Sky Sports if the possession statistics bothered him, Mourinho replied: "No, never, it could be 99%. When you decide to play the game strategically you don’t care about stats, you care just about the points.
"We played this game strategically. We were very well prepared and were able to make some very important players disappear, nobody saw them, we had also a big heart to fight, people very focused on their jobs.
"All the defensive set-pieces were in our pockets. I know what people can think but football is talent and strategically it is also very important. I love [winning like that]."
The result leaves Chelsea needing a maximum eight points from their final six games to be crowned champions and Mourinho called for calm after a yet another narrow one-goal win.
He added: "I keep saying the same; I want to be champion. If it’s in the last match, it’s in the last match but the reality is we need eight points, or six in the next two. We are perfectly calm.
"We are waiting for [Loic] Remy to be back, Diego Costa to be back and Willian also. We are in a good situation but we must keep our feet on the ground and we will do that."
Louis van Gaal, meanwhile, dismissed the notion that Chelsea were in control despite his team's prominence on the ball, adding: "No, I don’t think so.
"Everybody can have his own opinion and the winner takes it all. It’s a song but it’s like that."
Newcastle United head coach John Carver has described his job at St James' Park as the hardest in football.
Carver took over until the end of the season in January following Alan Pardew's switch to Crystal Palace.
But he has endured a difficult spell in charge of his hometown club, overseeing just two wins in 2015, form that has seen Newcastle slip to 13th in the Premier League, nine points above the bottom three.
"I think it is the hardest job in football. Definitely. It is. I don't manufacture anything – I don't do that. Straight and honest, that's me," Carver said.
"It's the dream job, right. This is the dream job, but the hardest thing is taking the criticism off your own people.
"That's the bit I find really, really difficult. And some of it is deserved and some of it is not. Sometimes you're dealt the hand and you've got to get on with it, and this is the hand I've been dealt.
"When I took it on, if I hadn't accepted or if I didn't want it, then I would have been kicking myself. I wasn't going to not accept it, not have a go at it, all right. I've said this to you, I genuinely believe that if I've got the right tools I can do the job."
Ronald Koeman was able to find plenty of positives for Southampton's European hopes, despite Saturday's 2-1 defeat at Stoke City.
Having taken the lead at the Britannia Stadium through Morgan Schneiderlin, Southampton looked on course to temporarily close the gap on the top four to two points.
However, the visitors failed to make their pressure pay and were punished by goals from Mame Biram Diouf and Charlie Adam, but Koeman remains positive about his side's chances of qualifying for Europe.
"Sometimes it's difficult to understand and accept a final result like [that]," he said.
"We know football is about details, but we did enough to get at least a point.
"Maybe in some situations we need to be more clinical in the box, but in general we played well, it's important to keep that until the end of the season.
"The distance [to the top four] is still five points, but we are fighting for a Europa League place, that’s our Champions League, we have to see it like that.
"We are still in very good position in the table."
Everton winger Kevin Mirallas has insisted that he sees his future at Goodison Park, amid reports he wants to leave the Merseyside club.
Mirallas has made 101 appearances for Everton since arriving for Olympiacos in August 2012 and has scored 10 goals in all competitions this season, including the winner against Burnley in the Premier League on Saturday.
And the 27-year-old – who has a year left on his current deal, although Everton have the option to extend that by another season – has confirmed that he is happy to remain at the club, despite being heavily linked with a switch elsewhere.
"A lot of people have talked about my future, but I like to play for Everton," said Mirallas, who manager Roberto Martinez has claimed is key to his plans for next season.
"I am in my best form of the season, but when it is finished I will talk to my partner, the chairman, the trainer and manager.
Leicester City manager Nigel Pearson has warned that his side still have plenty of work to do in order to avoid the drop from the Premier League despite chalking up a third win on the bounce, this time against Swansea City.
Leonardo Ulloa - only selected to play after an injury to David Nugent in the warm-up gave Leicester an excellent start at the King Power Stadium, latching onto a knock-down from Wes Morgan to bag his eighth league goal of the season on 15 minutes.
And the home fans' nerves were eased when midfielder Andy King made it 2-0 in the final minute of normal time.
Coupled with Burnley's 1-0 defeat at Everton, the result moved Leicester up to 18th, with only goal difference now separating them from safety.
And with a game in hand on both Burnley and QPR, plus a relatively kind run-in, Pearson's side look to have a decent chance of avoiding an immediate return to the Championship.
"The danger is that people start believing that the job is done," the manager said.
"It is far from it; there's still a long way to go.
"We have still got six games left and we have to get as many points as possible from them, which is going to be a big challenge."
Next up for Leicester is a crucial meeting at Burnley on Saturday, while their final two games of the campaign are also against fellow strugglers in the form of Sunderland and QPR.
"To get three wins on the trot in this division is very hard and doubly so considering the position we're in," Pearson said.
"We are delighted. We're now involved in a six-game season and four of those are at home.
"Our fate is still in our hands, which is nice and that's how we want to keep it for as long as possible."
Mark Hughes hailed Stoke City's fighting spirit as they came from a goal down to beat Southampton 2-1 in the Premier League.
Morgan Schneiderlin had put Southampton ahead midway through the first half after some sloppy defending, but Stoke battled back to level early in the second period through Mame Biram Diouf.
Hughes' side were then more than a match for their opponents for long spells, and - after his wondergoal against Chelsea a fortnight ago - Charlie Adam scored again to secure all three points with six minutes left, leaving Hughes delighted with a thoroughly professional display.
"I thought their goal came against the run of play," said the Stoke boss. "But we got on level terms thanks to a great finish by Mame.
"And in the second half I thought we were really strong in doing what we were trying to do, we restricted them to few opportunities, and I think the quality of our chances were better.
"We made a few changes and they were effective. Charlie has done it once again - thankfully the ball dropped to him and it's great technique, he knows exactly what he's doing.
"We then needed to manage the game out, and I thought we were a lot better at that today."
Swansea City deserved their 2-0 defeat at Premier League strugglers Leicester City, according to manager Garry Monk.
The Welsh side headed to the King Power Stadium looking to extend a three-game unbeaten run at the expense of Leicester, who began the day in last place.
But they fell behind to a Leonardo Ulloa goal on 15 minutes and although Andy King didn't make the game safe for the hosts until the final minute, Swansea rarely looked like claiming anything from the meeting.
"We probably got out-fought today which I haven't said too many times this season," said Monk.
"There was a little bit more fight in them which earned them the right to win the game.
"We knew with the crowd and recent results that the intensity would be high in the first 20 minutes and we didn't really get to grips with it, which didn't allow us to get a foothold in the game."
Forced into a defensive reshuffle by the absence of the suspended Neil Taylor and the injured Kyle Naughton, the visitors were regularly troubled by a fired-up home side for whom the in-form Jamie Vardy was again impressive.
Going forward, meanwhile, Swansea created only one chance of note and it was squandered by Nelson Oliveira.
Making just his second start of the season as a replacement for the injured Bafetimbi Gomis, the on-loan Benfica man found himself clean through on goal, but his shot was deflected wide by Kasper Schmeichel.
"Nelson had a great chance and he did well to stay on his feet, but he probably should have scored," Monk said.
"If we had got a goal then, the atmosphere would have changed and that might have put a bit of nervousness into them.
"But these are the fine margins that you're dealing with at this level."
Roberto Martinez believes Ross Barkley showed the character to become a club great for Everton, despite the youngster missing a penalty in the 1-0 victory over 10-man Burnley.
After Aaron Lennon had been fouled by David Jones early on at Goodison Park on Saturday, Barkley stepped up to take the resulting spot-kick, despite set-piece specialist Leighton Baines being in the starting line-up.
The midfielder's tame effort was saved comfortably by Tom Heaton, although Everton's blushes were spared 17 minutes later when Kevin Mirallas fired home the winner.
Martinez, who added that Romelu Lukaku – on the bench at the time – is Everton's current first-choice penalty taker, claimed that Barkley's performance after the miss showed what a top player he will go on to become.
"Ross showed responsibility and felt good in taking it and Leighton [Baines] was happy for him to do so," said the Spaniard.
"Heaton deserves credit for the save, but I love seeing players taking control of the big moments and showing that character – even though Ross missed, he proved he's a top player.
"It shows the potential that Ross has and he showed me that he's an incredible footballer with a high level of maturity that's going to become an Everton great."
The hosts controlled proceedings from the off on Saturday, with Sean Dyche's relegation-battling Burnley struggling to cope with Everton's pacey front line.
Though the penalty was missed, Mirallas made no such mistake just prior to the half-hour mark, prodding home from close range after latching onto Seamus Coleman's cross.
To make matters worse for the visitors, Ashley Barnes was shown a second yellow card on the stroke of half-time, although Mirallas was lucky to escape with just a booking for a lunge on George Boyd after the interval.
However, Martinez, who was delighted with his side's efficient performance – their fourth win in five Premier League games – insisted that there was no malice in the Belgian's tackle.
"I don't think it [the Mirallas challenge] was a red card, it's not a malicious tackle from Kevin, it was just a normal striker's challenge," he added.
"There were a few difficult decisions for the referee, but I don't think the result was down to them."
Former Crystal Palace manager Tony Pulis thanked the club's supporters for a warm reception on his return to Selhurst Park in West Brom's 2-0 win.
Pulis took over from Ian Holloway at Palace in November 2013 and eventually steered the club to Premier League survival.
The Welshman brought his tenure to an abrupt end in August due to his reported frustration over Palace's transfer activity and he was subsequently appointed as West Brom head coach in January.
Despite the circumstances of his departure - which came just two days before the 2014-15 campaign got under way - Palace fans still greeted Pulis' return with plenty of applause on Saturday.
"Obviously it's lovely coming back to a former club," he told reporters. "It's funny, thinking about coming here; we [when he was Palace manager] played Stoke here last year and had a great reception from the away support.
"To come here today and get that from the Palace supporters was first class.
"They [Palace] did very well for me last year and I think I repaid them a little bit with respect to what we did as well, in the dressing room and on the pitch.
"It's a good club with unbelievable potential, and I mean that - frightening potential.
"The supporters are wonderful and they have a good manager now [Alan Pardew] - they could push on, given the opportunity."
Saturday's win, courtesy of goals from James Morrison and Craig Gardner, moved West Brom eight points clear of the relegation zone with five games to go.
But Pulis is not getting carried away with regards to their survival chances just yet, targeting four more points to hit the 40 landmark, the figure generally considered enough to secure safety.
"I said to them [the players] afterwards, '40 points, give me 40 points'.
"I think it has been a good season for us then and that's what we should be aiming for. Five games to go, we can get 40 points."
Sean Dyche has insisted that there is no lack of belief amongst his players at relegation-battling Burnley after the 1-0 loss at Everton on Saturday.
The Lancashire club slumped to bottom of the Premier League for the first time since November as Kevin Mirallas' strike sealed the spoils for Roberto Martinez's men, with Burnley's troubles confounded by Ashley Barnes' sending off on the stroke of half-time.
But Dyche is adamant that, despite only having claimed one win in their last 12 league fixtures, Burnley still believe they can avoid the drop.
"There's never been a lack of energy with us, it's just a lack of cutting edge, but there's belief, so they'll be ready to go again," he said.
"The loss leaves us fighting, but we were written off before the start of the season and we're still being written off now so that's no change.
"But we've had plenty of knocks this season and bounced back."
Everton set the tempo at Goodison Park and were gifted an opportunity to take the lead when David Jones fouled Aaron Lennon on the edge of the penalty area, with referee Mike Jones pointing to the spot.
However, Ross Barkley's lacklustre strike was well saved by Tom Heaton, although the England youngster's blushes were spared by Mirallas' 27th-minute opener.
Barnes – already on a yellow for a clumsy tackle on James McCarthy – then saw red for a reckless challenge on Seamus Coleman, but Mirallas was lucky to remain on the pitch after a dangerous lunge on George Boyd in the second half.
And Dyche was dismayed by the some of the referee's decisions.
"I don't know how he [Mirallas] stayed on the pitch [for a high tackle]. You should be sent off for them," he added.
"He is not a malicious player, but you can't stay on the football pitch for tackles like that.
"The penalty was, in my view, outside of the box.
"I do think the referee got the sending off right, though, Ashley [Barnes] gives everything for the team, but there has to be an element of control, and he's committed two silly challenges."
