By Spy Uganda
Leicester City are looking for their first new manager in four years after parting company with Brendan Rodgers in a bid to avoid Premier League relegation.
The Foxes sunk into the bottom three after Saturday’s late defeat at Crystal Palace extended their winless run to seven matches in all competitions.
Rodgers delivered two top-five finishes in the Premier League and the club’s first ever FA Cup success in 2021 but leaves with a drop into the Championship a real possibility.
“Performances and results during the current season have been below our shared expectations,” Leicester chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha said.
“It had been our belief that continuity and stability would be key to correcting our course, particularly given our previous achievements under Brendan’s management.
“Regrettably, the desired improvement has not been forthcoming and, with 10 games of the season remaining, the board is compelled to take alternative action to protect our Premier League status.
“The task ahead of us in our final 10 games is clear. We now need to come together – fans, players and staff – and show the poise, quality and fight to secure our position as a Premier League club.”
Rodgers’ assistant Chris Davies and first-team fitness coach Glen Driscoll have also left.
First-team coaches Adam Sadler and Mike Stowell have been put in immediate caretaker charge, tasked with preparing the side for Tuesday’s crunch clash with Aston Villa.
Thomas Frank is the early bookmakers’ favourite to succeed Rodgers, although Brentford are likely to resist any approach for their manager who has a sizeable influence over recruitment and strategy and is understood to be wedded to the project in west London.
Celtic’s Ange Postecoglou and the unattached Rafa Benitez are also among the list of contenders, along with former Leeds manager Marcelo Bielsa and ex-Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino.
When a 6-2 defeat at Tottenham last September left Leicester with one point from seven games, one argument for not sacking Rodgers was that his contract was so lucrative that it would cost the club too much to fire their manager.
After taking one point from their last six games, there was a realisation that keeping Rodgers now might prove far more expensive.
Bad beginnings matter. Of the 10 clubs that have started a season as badly as Leicester, only one – Southampton in 1998-99 – has survived without a change of manager.
No club is in worse form and this season no club has lost more points from winning positions than the 22 Leicester have tossed away.
In the wake of Saturday’s defeat at Selhurst Park after taking a 1-0 lead, Rodgers asked for a change of mentality among his players.
Against Villa on Tuesday, they have an opportunity to make an immediate response, even if Rodgers won’t be around to see it.
