Leicester face a 'huge mountain' to avoid relegation, according to Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Following a 4-0 defeat to Brentford, Leicester manager Ruud van Nistelrooy admits his team has "a huge mountain to climb" if they are to avoid relegation from the Premier League.

The Foxes became the first Premier League team to lose six consecutive home games without scoring.

Woyo Coulibaly and Jamie Vardy were denied their first goal at the King Power Stadium in 75 days by Mark Flekken in the first four minutes, but they were punished with three goals in 15 first-half minutes from Yoane Wissa, Bryan Mbeumo, and Christian Norgaard, prompting some home fans to flee.

The difference in class between Brentford and relegation-threatened Leicester was clear in the second half, but the Bees had to wait until the 89th minute to add a fourth when Fabio Carvalho rolled home close range.

Brentford's fourth consecutive road win moved them into the top half, while Leicester remained in the bottom three ahead of the weekend's games.

Van Nistelrooy stated, "It's blow after blow; there's a lot of hard work put in without results."

"Some performances give us hope, but we must accept that we are now in a position where we will face a better team every week.

"You must strive to perform to the best of your abilities; I cannot expect the players to do more. With our current squad, we have a huge mountain to climb to stay in this league.

"It became clear today. We made a few mistakes, did not perform well, and Brentford proved to be too much of a challenge.

"I'm not saying they're not good enough, but the expectation is unfair. You can't live up to them. "Then you can only do your best."

Leicester suffered their tenth defeat in their last 11 league games, but they are still only two points away from safety.

When asked if the job was more difficult than he anticipated, the Foxes manager replied, "It doesn't matter if it is or not. It's as it is.

"I am working within that situation. I had no idea what it would be like; it's not easy, a difficult situation, and a huge challenge.

"The situation we are in is alarming, and the mountain we must climb is enormous.

"We expect the other teams to lose, but we know that won't last forever. It is up to us to collect enough points."

Thomas Frank's side moved within six points of a guaranteed European place, but the Brentford manager is only looking at one game at a time.

He said, "We want to aim as high as possible, but the focus is on the next game.

"I've said many times that if we can keep players fit, we'll have a great team and players. We will make every effort to accommodate as many people as possible.

"I'm very privileged have a fantastic group of players, they work hard, they like each other, they play for each other."