Brendan Rodgers is on the brink of being sacked by Leicester City, according to Jamie Redknapp, who thinks Saturday’s 6-2 defeat by Tottenham will spark changes at the club.
Leicester were thrashed by Spurs to leave them with six defeats from seven Premier League games. The Foxes are rooted to the bottom of the table and have conceded 22 goals this season, which is the most by any side in Premier League history after seven matches.
Youri Tielemans’ penalty and James Maddison’s clever finish had Rodgers’ side level at 2-2 at half-time following headers by Harry Kane and Eric Dier. But Rodrigo Bentancur’s measured finish and Son Heung-min’s 14-minute hat-trick off the substitutes’ bench ruined Leicester’s day in north London.
Rodgers gave a subdued interview after the match, in which he conceded he understood the pressure on him, and Redknapp thought that he sounded like a defeated man. “It’s not just that result,” he said on Sky Sports. “It’s been tough for him. He didn’t get backed in the window. There are factors they have to look at, but when I see him speak then, he looks resigned to changes.
“Leicester got rid of Claudio Ranieri six months after they won the league and I just have a feeling something may happen there. I’ve got no doubt, even if they do change it, he’ll be successful somewhere else.”
Leicester have taken just one point from seven matches so far – their worst start to a season since the 1983/84 campaign. Rodgers signed a new contract in December 2019 that still has another three years to run and therefore means he is in a strong position in terms of compensation.
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Nevertheless, The Telegraph reports that Leicester are fans of Brentford boss Thomas Frank and may be tempted to act, with the two-week international break giving them time to find a new manager. In his post-match press conference, Rodgers admitted he could be sacked before the next game, against Nottingham Forest on October 3.
“I don’t know, to be honest. Whatever their decision is, I’ll always respect it,” he said. “I feel in the team you watched them play in the first half, you can see the confidence in the team, the creativity in the team, the pressing in the team, it’s just cutting out the mistakes.
“There’s no doubt in the first seven games, we’ve had a tough start. Especially after the summer that we have had. Tottenham away, Arsenal away, Chelsea away and Manchester United at home. It [the international break] has probably come at a good time to reset everything and break the cycle of the summer as well. And there’s lot of this game that was very good for us.
“The owners will do what it is that they feel they need to do. I’m not daft - I know football. Losing the last six games doesn’t make great reading. I’ve every confidence that the team can push on and if they play like they did for large parts of this, we’ll climb higher in table” Asked whether he wished to continue, Rodgers said: “100 per cent.”
