Leicester City manager Nigel Pearson has said that his team did not turn up against Stoke City this afternoon, but credited Mark Hughes's men for their performance at the Britannia Stadium.

The Potters booked their place in the fourth round of the FA Cup thanks to goals from Kenwyne Jones and Charlie Adam, with the Foxes' only reply coming through David Nugent in the 77th minute.

"We did okay in patches but probably didn't manage the ball as well as we're capable of," the 50-year-old told reporters.

"You've got to give them credit. When you give the ball away against a Premier League side, you have to work hard to get it back and I think they're probably a better side than people give them credit for.

"We didn't quite play as well as we can do but we still gave a decent account of ourselves. We had our moments but not enough of them."

Pearson made five changes to his regular lineup, but defended his team selection as they compete in a hectic Championship campaign.

"We couldn't have gone out there with a similar side to the one we've been churning out some good results with because you get to a point where players will hit a physical wall - and sometimes a mental wall as well," he added.

Leicester take on promotion rivals Derby County at the King Power Stadium on Friday.