Leicester City have made a very slow start under Russell Martin.

Leicester currently sit 17th in League One after suffering a 3-1 defeat to Peterborough United at the weekend.

Russell Martin is coming under fire, and many Foxes fans are calling for change just eight games into the season.

I wrote a piece about why it’s so important Leicester don’t sack Martin, as the constant chopping and changing of managers is part of the reason we find ourselves in the third tier.

We need to commit to this project and allow the former Southampton boss to reset the culture – which will take time.

However, there’s no doubt Leicester can improve in the short term and here’s a blueprint of how Martin can fix the club’s problems.

Russell Martin must address Leicester’s defensive issues

Leicester’s issues this season are very simple; they aren’t taking their chances, and they’ve been far too frail defensively.

Martin’s immediate focus should be focused on keeping clean sheets, as that’s the key base of any successful team.

The 40-year-old must pick his strongest back four and then settle on it. Continuity is vital, as the persistent changes are clearly upsetting the rhythm.

I think Leicester’s strongest team includes Christian McFarlane at left-back, Harry Souttar partnering Ilari Kangasniemi at centre-back and Woyo Coulibaly at right-back whilst Jayden Joseph is injured.

The personnel of the back four is important, but Martin must establish whether the defensive mistakes are based on his system or individual errors.

In my assessment, most of the goals conceded this term have come from individual errors, and I think that may be a mentality issue.

Playing at King Power Stadium is difficult right now as the atmosphere can turn toxic pretty quickly, so the players must ensure they are psychologically ready to play under pressure and not go into their shell.

Hiring a sports psychologist to work one-on-one with players would be helpful, and I’m sure Martin is already trying to instil a calm mindset into his group.

Leicester have to start taking their chances

According to FotMob, Leicester have missed 13 big chances already this season. That simply has to change.

Against Peterborough, City created a much higher xG (expected goals) than their opponents and had almost double the number of attempts.

So, there is genuine rationale to suggest that once this team starts to be a bit more clinical in front of goal, they could blow teams away.

The return of Conor Chaplin will make a huge difference. Chaplin has been plagued by injuries all season, but he’s close to full fitness.

The former Ipswich Town attacker scored 26 goals when he was last at this level, so he’s probably the best finisher at the club along with Emil Riis.

As well as bringing Chaplin back into the fold, Martin should seriously consider playing two strikers up front.

Riis and Admir Bristric are similar players, but they could work together in a front two if one is able to drop into the build-up and arrive later in the box.

Bristric has shown to be pretty decent at linking the play, so perhaps a two-up front system should be deployed as a plan B.

Hiring an attacking coach who has experience scoring goals at a high level would also go a long way, as these young players need pointers to be more composed in front of goal and choose the right finish.