’Ive always tweaked the nose of fear and put an ice-cream down the vest of terror.”

Ian Holloway was losing his voice yesterday evening but that still didn’t stop him delivering one of his famous one-liners as he embarked on a lengthy defence of his decision to leave Plymouth Argyle and join Leicester City in the face of extreme hostility down in the west country. In the process he veered between Del Boy and Richard the Third but there was no doubting his passion.

“My dad told me years ago, crash through the front door, son, and show the world who you are. And if they throw you back out the same way then great. The game, the business, stinks sometimes, but I don’t.”

Nor did his players yesterday, who responded to the arrival of their sixth manager in eight months with a spirited and intelligent performance that bodes well for the future under their new man. Goals from Richard Stearman and Matt Fryatt completed what appeared to be a perfect afternoon for the visitors, until Fryatt was dismissed just before the end for an apparent elbow on Liam Fontaine.

Holloway, a former Bristol Rovers player and manager, made a typically flamboyant entry onto enemy territory, hugging a City mascot and applauding the crowd.

The City supporters, who recognise and respect the achievements of their fellow Bristolian, responded with a warm round of applause. Holloway was also heartily welcomed by the Leicester City fans who were quickly chanting “Ollie Mourinho” and though he still might have preferred to have been lapping up the applause at the Walkers Stadium, his players were quite happy to be on the road. The Foxes poor home form has had their supporters seething, but away they went into yesterday’s game with just one away defeat in seven games. Yesterday they kept it tight, conceding most of the possession early on, and they still deserved to go into the interval with a one-goal lead.

Bristol City did have early chances through Lee Trundle and Darren Byfield, but Leicester were always threatening on the break and on 22 minutes they took the lead with what was a simple if sloppy goal.

An inswinging free kick from Alan Sheehan on the right was cleared only as far as Stearman, who knew little as the ball appeared to bounce off the back of his head. The ball fell at his feet and he then poked it past a static Adriano Basso and into the net.

The Bristol City manager, Gary Johnson, brought on Ivan Sproule shortly after the break to replace the right-back Skuse and add some pace to the attack. The Northern Ireland international is still erratic however and on 61 minutes he appeared to mishit his shot when presented with a decent opportunity on the edge of the box. The ball ended up at the feet of the alert Byfield near the penalty spot and his instant shot brought another good save from Fulop.

However, if anybody looked like getting the second goal it was the visitors thanks to the ability of players such as Iain Hume to make good use of whatever ball came their way. Hume was working well with Fryatt and the two should have contrived to stretch the lead further on 66 minutes. Picking the ball up with his back to goal on the edge of the opposition penalty area, Fryatt played the ball wide for the rapidly advancing Sheehan who took possession in his stride and forced Basso into a sharp save diving to his right. The ball fell to Hume who shot over when he would have expected to score.

Leicester were to make no mistake the next time, Fryatt playing a sharp one-two with Hume on the edge of the box and then finishing sharply as Basso approached. The Leicester striker was then sent off for his challenge on Fontaine, though it appeared a strange decision.

“The opposition on the day were stronger in all areas,” Johnson said afterwards. “When we went one nil down the crowd went very quiet, but the players were definitely not giving enough for the supporters to get behind them.” Crazily, Leicester have another Championship game tomorrow night, against Cardiff City – Holloway will be hoping that the buzz hasn’t gone away by then.

Star player: Iain Hume (Leicester)

Player ratings. Bristol City: Basso 5, Skuse 5 (Sproule 51min 5), McCombe 5, Carey 5, Fontaine 6, Wilson 5 (Noble 76min), Johnson 6, Elliott 5, McIndoe 5, Byfield 6, Trundle 5 (Showunmi 63min)

Leicester: Fulop 7, Stearman 7, McAuley 6, Kisnorbo 6, Mattock 6, Hume 8 (N’Gotty 82min), Wesolowski 6, Clemence 7, Sheehan 7, Fryatt 8, John 5 (Kenton 34min 6) Leicester:Stearman 23, Fryatt 78 Referee:J Moss Attendance:15,040