And while the threat of a points penalty for alleged breaches of spending rules – which Leicester is locked in a legal battle with the Premier League over – shrouds the club’s true position in uncertainty, James insists the off-field challenges are not a distraction.
“We don’t really think about the points deduction, we are focused on where we are now, how many points we have now and how many points we need to get to where we want to get to,” he told BBC East Midlands Today.
“If the points deduction comes, then we will deal with it then. For now, it’s out of our control.”
For a Leicester side that has stuttered on its return to the Championship this season, summer loan addition James has been a reliable and often outstanding performer.
His thumping 83rd-minute finish against Sheffield United gave Leicester hope of rescuing a result on Saturday after Stephy Mavididi had already pulled a goal back for the hosts.
But there was no more late drama as the Blades hung on for a 3-2 win that piled pressure on Foxes boss Marti Cifuentes.
James defended his manager, saying the second-half performance at the weekend was proof of the Foxes’ unity.
“We are focused on getting three points for us as a team and for him, because he deserves it,” he added.
“The other day [being 3-0 down at the break] wasn’t good enough, and we know it wasn’t good enough. We apologise to the fans for that first 10 minutes.
“At half-time we said, ‘this is not who we are, who we want to be’. And we showed that in the second half, the fight was completely different.
“We know the fans are frustrated, we can see it and we can feel it. And it is our job to go and change that.”
