Leicester City have hit out at the fixture scheduling which will see them tackle their second tough challenge in three days at the Hawthorns.

Former Albion coach and now Foxes assistant manager Craig Shakespeare has branded the schedule, which sees his side facing their seventh match in an eight-game sequence spanning just 24 days,  a “mockery.”

“For me, it makes a mockery of the planning, when we have eight or nine games in a month and yet, in November, we had just three,” Shakespeare said.

“It seems ridiculous – but we have a good enough squad to cope and we have to be ready.

“We have always said the squad will be tested to the full over the Easter programme, and that will certainly be the case.

“It may give some players who have had limited chances an opportunity to play. But everyone is in the same boat and we have to get on with it.”

In an effort to ease travelling fatigue, owner Milan Mandaric signed off a flight to Cardiff on Tuesday where another defeat hit the Foxes’ promotion hopes.

After picking up just one point from their last four games, Shakespeare admits Leicester’s resilience is now being put to the test like never before as they tackle a Baggies outfit on Friday night looking for the first of three wins to guarantee Premier League football next season.

“We will have to dig in,” he said. “The results of late have shown the thin line between winning and losing.

“The last time we had a sequence of results like this we showed great resilience to bounce back and go on a run. We have to do that again.

“We have never been carried away as staff and players. We know what we want to achieve. We have to try to win every game.

“Now we have to bounce back against a good Cardiff team.

“We go to West Brom and we know there will be some twists and turns between now and the end of the season. We have to make sure the players stay focused and prepared, and we will be okay.”

Manager Nigel Pearson, the former Baggies assistant manager and coach who is chasing a second successive promotion, is also feeling the effects of the schedule because of a slipped disc which is hampering his touchline patrols.