If anyone can, Harry can. Dave Bassett may still be without a win as Leicester manager, but his new side suggested last night that in reversing a trend of five successive defeats they might yet have the grit and endeavour to haul themselves clear of trouble.
Leicester's toil and trouble this season had been epitomised by the plight of their record signing Ade Akinbiyi. The £5 million sterling striker struggled to justify that pricetag last season, but reached a new low in the recent 4-1 home drubbing by Liverpool when his lack of poise prompted a quartet of increasingly dismal misses.
Akinbiyi is available for transfer, with Bassett willing to off-load him for a fee over £3 million. His former club Wolves have been encouraged to stomp up that cash, but in the meantime - and with injuries leaving Bassett with little option - the striker plays on.
The announcement of Akinbiyi's name was greeted with disgruntled acceptance amongst the away support rather than the boos which have haunted him since those misses. Yet he and his team-mates started robustly enough, with Stig-Inge Bjornebye nodding to safety as Trevor Benjamin threatened to convert Robbie Savage's cross.
City were busy, their restructured formation providing a more solid feel and allowing what remains an impressive midfield quartet to hassle and harry their flustered opponents.
But while the Foxes' midfield may be too good on paper to suffer the ignominy of relegation, their forward line retains a worryingly Nationwide feel. Too often Muzzy Izzet, Savage or Andy Impey worked positions only to find their options non-existent in the area.
For their part, Blackburn looked anything but a team that had scorched their way to 10 goals in their previous two matches. Only David Dunn and the Turkish international Tugay suggested any class, but, with neither side bearing their teeth, the game descended into scrappy tit-for-tat spats.
Savage tripped Dunn and saw yellow. Dennis Wise and Garry Flitcroft squared up and were cautioned, although the former did at least disrupt the torpor by shooting just over four minutes before the break.
That might have been the first-half highlight, but Leicester were always unlikely to go a full 45 minutes without seeing Akinbiyi fluff his lines. Henning Berg's weak header and Bjornebye's poor back-pass sent the striker clean through, only for Brad Friedal to block his shot. True to his abysmal luck, the ball rebounded, hit Akinbiyi in the chest and bobbled wide of the near post.
The miss merely underlined how Bassett will need to wheel and deal.
BLACKBURN: Friedel, Neill, Berg, Johansson, Bjornebye (Hignett 69), Johnson (Gillespie 64), Tugay, Dunn, Flitcroft, Jansen, Grabbi (Bent 39). Subs Not Used: Short, Kelly. Booked: Flitcroft, Tugay, Neill, Bjornebye, Johnson, Hignett.
LEICESTER: Walker, Marshall, Elliott, Sinclair, Davidson, Savage, Wise, Izzet, Impey, Akinbiyi, Benjamin (Scowcroft 69). Subs Not Used: Royce, Heath, Piper, Oakes. Booked: Savage, Wise.
Referee: R Styles (Waterlooville).
