Russell Martin's brand of football may be doing him no favours when it comes to winning over a sceptical Leicester City support, according to former Foxes defender Matt Heath.

Heath, who played for Leicester during the club's earlier lower-league years, told BBC East Midlands Today that the high-possession, play-out-from-the-back style Martin has installed is "probably not a good recipe" given the circumstances the club finds itself in. After back-to-back relegations from the top two tiers, Leicester currently sit 18th in League One, the lowest position in the club's 142-year history.

The situation was brought into sharp focus by a 4-0 home defeat to Oxford United last weekend, a result that has intensified scrutiny on the manager and raised serious questions about whether his methods are suited to the third tier. Heath did not mince his words.

"I know the modern-day footballer does like to have high possession, and when completed correctly it has a real good dominance on the game," Heath said. "But the big caveat is that Leicester is a team in League One that have players that are League One standard."

That last point cuts to the heart of the debate. Martin's approach asks defenders to receive the ball deep in their own penalty area and play short through pressure, trusting technical quality and spatial awareness to beat a press. At clubs where that quality exists across the squad, it can be devastatingly effective. At a club still finding its feet after a chaotic summer of outgoings and budget cuts, the margin for error is thinner than the theory allows.

"It is a high risk and high reward style," Heath continued. "When playing out from the goalkeeper to the centre-halves in the penalty box, the risks are there to be seen. So, on the occasions that it doesn't work it really does look bad."

His former team-mate Matt Piper went further, describing the approach as "passing teams to death." That is perhaps an uncharitable reading, but it reflects a wider frustration among sections of the support who have already endured two demoralising relegation seasons and are not inclined to be patient with a style that, so far, has produced few results to justify its demands.

Heath acknowledged the difficulty of Martin's position. "To try to win the fans over, who are very disgruntled with the seasons they've previously had with two relegations, and play such a high risk style of play is probably not a good recipe really," he said.

The manager has not been without defenders. Foxes defender Jayden Joseph came out publicly earlier this week to say the squad believes in what Martin is asking of them, and Joseph recently signed a new contract through to 2030, which is hardly the act of a player who has lost faith. But belief inside the dressing room and evidence on the pitch are two different things, and right now the table tells an uncomfortable story.

What Heath's comments add to the debate is a note of structural scepticism that goes beyond tactics. It is not simply that the system is bad; it is that it may be the wrong system for the wrong division at the wrong moment. League One sides are not built to be played through. They press high, they defend in numbers, and they punish the sort of errors that this style invites. Oxford, on Saturday, were clinical proof of that.

Martin has spoken about needing time to embed his ideas, and there is a legitimate argument that any philosophy takes a full pre-season and a run of games to properly take hold. But time is already becoming a scarce commodity at a club that arrived in League One with promotion expected, not negotiated.

The next few fixtures will likely prove more instructive than any pundit assessment. For now, though, Heath's verdict captures a mood among supporters that no amount of press-release optimism from the club seems able to shift.

Frequently asked

Why is Russell Martin under pressure at Leicester City?
Martin is under pressure after a poor start to the League One season, including a 4-0 home defeat to Oxford United, which left Leicester 18th in the table. His high-possession playing style has been widely criticised as too risky for the third tier.
What does Matt Heath say about Russell Martin's style of play?
Former Leicester defender Matt Heath told BBC East Midlands Today that Martin's approach of playing out from the back in the penalty area carries high risks, and that trying to win over already disgruntled fans with such a style is 'probably not a good recipe'.
Where are Leicester City in the League One table?
Leicester are currently 18th in the League One table, which according to the BBC is the lowest position in the club's 142-year history.