Everton winger Andros Townsend has leapt to the defence of the under-fire Brendan Rodgers - labelling the current speculation around the immediate future of the Leicester City boss as 'nonsense'.
Currently propping up the Premier League table at the first pit stop of the season, despite a promising first half the Foxes were humiliated 6-2 at Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday afternoon as Son Heung-min fired an incredible 13-minute second-half hat-trick to increase further pressure on former Liverpool manager Rodgers.
But despite six consecutive Premier League defeats, Townsend has offered his support of the Northern Irishman, insisting the situation Leicester find themselves in is comparable to the predicament Everton found themselves in at the start of last season under former manager Rafa Benitez.
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"They were in a similar position to we were at Everton last year, in terms of being hamstrung by Financial Fair Play (FFP), not being able to sign players," said Townsend in an interview with talkSPORT. "They had the [Wesley] Fofana situation, which didn't get resolved until the final few days of the [transfer] window.
"So it's been a tough, tough start for them and [it] adds to the difficult start they've had to season and the top teams they've had to face. It's been a tough start.
"I hope the owners see beyond the media nonsense about, 'sack Rodgers this and that', and put all these situations into consideration and give him the relative time he needs to get Leicester out of the situation they're in."
Despite losing highly-rated defender Fofana to Chelsea in a deal worth north of £70m in August, Rodgers was unable to make significant additions to his squad during the summer transfer window, with Wout Faes the club's only outfield addition after UEFA warned the Foxes they would be "monitored very closely" in regards to FFP.
It's a situation familiar to those at Everton, as years of heavy financing finally caught up with the club last summer and consequently meant a sum of just £1.5m was handed to Benitez to spend in the transfer market.
However, following the sale of Richarlison to Tottenham for a fee of £60m earlier this summer, Benitez's replacement Frank Lampard was given financial room to manoeuvre more freely in the latest transfer window.
Lampard's men claimed their first victory of the new Premier League season on Sunday afternoon as they defeated West Ham United 1-0 thanks to a maiden goal for summer signing Neal Maupay.
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