(Reuters) - Leicester City manager Claude Puel says the club must build for the future if they are to survive the Premier League's "piranha club".
Leicester, champions in 2015/16, have won only four of their last 19 league games and last weekend's 2-0 defeat by West Ham United has increased the pressure on the Frenchman, who took charge in October following Craig Shakespeare's sacking.
"The Premier League is like a piranha club but the most important thing for me is to build for the future," Puel told the British media. "It is not possible in six months to have all the possibility to perform like a great team."
Puel pointed to his former club Southampton, who are battling for top flight survival after sacking Mauricio Pellegrino and replacing him with Mark Hughes.
"I finished eighth in the table with Southampton. We can see where they play now."
Leicester, who sit ninth in the league, host Arsenal on Wednesday.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
