Leicester in freefall after Boro defeat

Middlesbrough's Dean Gordon has pleaded with coach Terry Venables to stay at The Riverside and lead the club into a new era.

Boro continued their impressive climb to Premiership safety with a convincing 3-0 victory over free-falling Leicester at Filbert Street.

Gordon said: 'Everybody wants Terry to stay, we want him to stay a lot. Things have changed since he came. They haven't exactly gone smoothly --but he's come in with different ideas.'

The visitors went ahead after just 12 minutes when Hamilton Ricard was allowed to head home a Gordon cross from six yards, though for most of the first half the home team were in control.

Leicester - on a dismal run of eight defeats on the spin, including a record-equalling seven straight league losses - fell further adrift on 52 minutes when Alen Boksic stole the ball from Gerry Taggart, cut inside Gary Rowett and sent a shot sailing over Simon Royce six minutes into the second half, their spirit broken. Two minutes later Paul Ince pounced at the edge of the box for the third.

Leicester boss Peter Taylor can be grateful that, so far, the criticism of him has been fairly restrained. The calls of 'Taylor out' were restricted to the odd single voice.