Ruud van Nistelrooy acknowledged the start to his tenure at Leicester City has been difficult, but is confident their fortunes will turn around.

Since replacing Steve Cooper in November, Van Nistelrooy has overseen seven defeats in nine Premier League matches, winning just once.

That run has seen the Foxes slide to 19th in the table, and the Dutchman knows team spirit will be crucial if they are to move away from danger - starting against Fulham on Saturday.

"From the first day I joined, I said it would go to the last day, this battle," he said. "You have hopes that you can surprise and get results early, so in that sense, it’s disappointing that didn’t happen.

"There is patience required for a six-week start in the collaboration between me and the club and there needs to be belief that on this path, we will turn performances into points.

"When you're in a tough moment as a player, you want to see how the manager reacts, and when you see spirit and character and belief, you join him on the path to success.

"We can only turn it around with hard work and togetherness. We're capable of showing that on Saturday."

Marco Silva, meanwhile, is seeking a response after Fulham's 3-2 defeat by West Ham ended an eight-match unbeaten streak.

The Cottagers boss, nevertheless, has confidence in his players to bounce back.

"The Premier League is always really competitive," he said. "It doesn't matter who you're playing, you have to always reach certain standards and levels.

"The unbeaten run was very, very good. It's always difficult to have these types of runs. For us, there was even a period where we had some important players out injured and some players that were suspended. As a squad, we responded really well.

"Small details led to us drawing some games. If those small details went in our favour, we would have won more. The last game against West Ham, it ended in the worst way possible.

"It's up to us now to react. We can't change that game. We've analysed, we know what things happened and what we have to improve for the next one. Let's go with all our trust and belief and quality to try to win the next one."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Leicester – Jamie Vardy

At 38 years old, Vardy is still firing for Leicester and has so far managed six league goals this season - more than any other player in their squad - and seven in all competitions.

Five of those have come at the King Power Stadium, including the Foxes' 6-2 victory over Queens Park Rangers in the FA Cup last weekend.

Fulham – Raul Jimenez

Jimenez is Fulham's top scorer this season with 10 goals in all competitions, with eight of those coming in the Premier League.

The Mexican has also netted four goals in his last four appearances for the Cottagers.

MATCH PREDICTION: FULHAM WIN

Leicester have lost six straight league games to slide to 19th in the table, two points from safety.

They have failed to score in each of their last three home defeats, coming against Crystal Palace, Manchester City and fourth-bottom Wolves.

Leicester have won just two of their 11 games at the King Power in the league this season (drawn three, lost six) and have accrued just the fourth-fewest home points this season.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Leicester City – 27.5%

Draw – 24.8%

Fulham – 47.7%