ADE: CUP EXIT STILL HAUNTS US.

Byline: VINCE ELLIS

ADE Akinbiyi has admitted Leicester City's Premiership slump is all down to one game - the FA Cup humiliation they suffered more than six months ago.

The Foxes were sent crashing out by Second Division giant-killers Wycombe Wanderers.

At the time, it was a major shock with Peter Taylor's side odds-on favourites to meet Liverpool in a glamour semi-final.

Victory would have been the crowning moment of Taylor's incredible reign. In less than a season, he would have come close to matching some of Martin O'Neill's memorable League Cup achievements.

But in an amazing quarter-final clash, Wycombe took another colossal scalp and left City with red faces.

No-one imagined at the time that defeat would have such a devastating impact.

Yet almost half a year on Akinbiyi, pictured, revealed that the memory lingers.

'That defeat sent us into a tail spin,' he admitted. 'It rocked us for a long time.

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'Up until that point it had been going well. We were playing some superb football and winning a lot of games.

'I was playing well and scoring a lot, but everything seemed to change.

'The confidence seemed to drain away and it was very hard to get it back again. For the rest of the season we were trying, but it never happened.

'We had a very good pre-season and we all worked hard, but we still haven't been able to get back to the way we were playing at the start of last season.'

The other contributing factor in that late-season slump was Neil Lennon's exit.

Iron-willed on the pitch and a force in the dressing room, Lennon left a gaping hole in the Foxes' midfield when he went to Celtic. That was another change City found hard to come to terms with.

'Neil was an outstanding player and, more than that, he was a leader.

'He was such an important figure at the club and it was a real shame to lose him.'

But the cloud was lifted when Dennis Wise arrived and Akinbiyi feels the former England inter- national will prove to be the perfect replacement.

'Dennis is having the same impact as Neil in his own way,' he said.

'Having someone like him around has helped the confidence and belief of the team.'

As far as Wise is concerned, for City to break out of their losing streak and mount a serious push up the Premiership will require a change of mindset rather than a change of personnel or playing style.

The former Chelsea captain insists the difference between Leicester and the recognised top six sides is down to belief.

'I have seen some of the things the lads can do on the training ground and in skill terms it's as good as anything any of the best Chelsea players can do,' Wise explained.

'I told them 'you've got to start believing in your own ability'.'

Despite the rotten start to the campaign, Akinbiyi insists he's still enjoying life at Leicester, even though the pressure is definitely on.

'I love it here, but I want to start banging the goals in as soon as I can,' he said.