Four weeks ago, Leicester were beaten 4-0 at home by Oxford United. Martin insisted it wouldn’t happen again, yet the very next home league fixture produced another humiliation, this time against a Peterborough side sitting near the bottom of League One. Supporters were streaming towards the exits before half-time, while those who remained made their feelings perfectly clear.

It’s difficult to blame them. Leicester supporters have endured years of disappointment, managerial changes and increasingly dreadful football. They’ve watched their club go from Premier League champions to a side struggling to compete in the third tier, and there appears to be no end to the misery.

Martin certainly deserves criticism. His commitment to playing out from the back has become almost religious, despite repeated evidence that his players cannot execute it consistently. Opposition teams press aggressively, Leicester make mistakes, and the same problems appear week after week.

There is little flexibility either. With Leicester three goals behind at half-time, supporters might reasonably have expected a tactical rethink. Instead, the changes offered precious little indication that Martin had another approach available. The squad construction raises equally uncomfortable questions, with Emil Riis providing a genuine attacking threat but other summer recruits struggling to contribute. The absence of an alternative recognised striker on the bench against Peterborough was particularly baffling.

However, this is where the argument becomes more complicated. Leicester have changed managers repeatedly, replaced substantial portions of their squad and introduced younger players. Yet the football remains remarkably similar, and the results are arguably getting worse. At some point, responsibility must move beyond the dugout.

The club’s hierarchy has committed itself to a particular footballing philosophy, apparently convinced that possession-based football is the route back to success. Martin was appointed because he believes in that approach, not despite it. If he leaves, what happens next? Does Leicester appoint another manager committed to exactly the same principles, hand him another collection of players and expect an entirely different outcome?

That would simply mean repeating the mistakes that brought them here. There is also the question of confidence, because Leicester’s players look terrified of making mistakes, particularly at home. Once something goes wrong, their composure disappears. The atmosphere undoubtedly becomes difficult, but supporters cannot reasonably be expected to applaud another catastrophic defensive error.

They have continued turning up in the thousands, only to watch performances that offer little entertainment and even less hope. Martin argues that changing managers isn’t necessarily a quick fix, and on that particular point he has a reasonable argument. Leicester’s recent history demonstrates that replacing the man in charge guarantees absolutely nothing, although keeping somebody simply because previous appointments have failed is hardly a convincing strategy either.

With Doncaster Rovers and Bromley approaching, Leicester face fixtures that could determine whether Martin survives. Another couple of defeats would make his position extraordinarily difficult to defend, particularly when there has been so little evidence of improvement despite the time afforded to him on the training ground.

The hierarchy needs to decide whether its precious philosophy is more important than results, because continuing down the same road threatens to drag Leicester even further into trouble. Russell Martin may well need to go, but unless those making the decisions recognise their own mistakes, his successor could inherit precisely the same mess.