Leicester City manager Nigel Pearson believes his side's fate this season will be decided by their results against the teams around them in the Premier League.
After a turbulent few days, Pearson's side were unfortunate to lose at Arsenal on Tuesday, a defeat which left them rooted to the bottom of the table, five points adrift of safety.
But The FA Cup now gives them the perfect chance to land a psychological blow on one of their closest rivals when they face Midlands foes Aston Villa on Sunday and Pearson is confident his side can turn the corner if they maintain their current level of performances.
Aston Villa v Leicester City
The FA Cup
Fifth Round Proper
12.30pm, Sunday 15 February 2015
Villa Park, Aston Villa FC
Winners receive £180,000 from prize fund
Live on BBC1
"Our results against sides in and around us are going to be pivotal for us moving forward and we cannot afford to continue [this theme] of playing well and being unlucky," said Pearson, who was at the centre of speculation over his own future at the King Power Stadium earlier this week.
"I think we've probably only had a couple of games this season where I can honestly say I was very disappointed with how we've played. Our performance levels have been pretty good for the most part.
"The players have remained very single-minded and their ability to deal with either criticism of themselves or destabilising news has been exceptionally good all season. It's been an unusual few days but there we are, I suppose that's the type of scrutiny that you can be under at this level and you've got to deal with it.
"I'm very pleased how the players have just got on with it, but the big message is 'yes we're capable, yes we can perform against big sides.' Now we've got to find that extra ingredient of turning those performances into wins and more importantly beating teams who are around us."
Leicester have recorded impressive victories in The FA Cup this season, beating Newcastle in the Third Round before snatching a last-minute winner against an in-form Tottenham at White Hart Lane.
See how Leicester progressed to the Fifth Round with a win at White Hart Lane
January signings Robert Huth and Andrej Kramaric have bolstered Pearson's squad, with the latter scoring his first goal for the club at Emirates Stadium, and the Leicester boss backed his new Croatian striker to keep scoring in all competitions.
"It can take time to bed in when players arrive at football clubs with a weight of expectation on them as a young man," he added.
"He's held in a high regard in European football in terms of what he's achieved so far.
"But when you're in the situation we're in and you sign a striker who's expected to score goals, I think that ramps up the expectation straight away and my job is to manage that expectation internally.
"I can't do a lot about what people do externally. His team-mates recognise his value within the squad. I'm very pleased for him to get off the mark."
