Leicester ‘very supportive’ to Brendan Rodgers despite poor start to season

Leicester City boss Brendan Rodgers says he has the full support of the club and is not suffering from betrayal.

Rodgers has come under pressure with his side sitting bottom of the Premier League on just one point after five successive losses.

That poor start has come after a difficult summer which saw them make just two signings and led Rodgers to say his squad needed refreshing as early as six months ago.

But the 49-year-old is defiant in wanting to stay in the job and says everyone is pulling in the same direction.

“It is very easy, I love being here, my record here is concrete in terms of what we have done and how performances have been,” he said ahead of Saturday’s midlands derby with Aston Villa.

“But of late it has not been to the level. My career has been built on a resilience, which is something you need in this industry. It is how I have arrived where I am.

“I was not a big player, I had to coach and I had to manage players and it has not all been plain sailing in my career.

“The strength is very easy to come by, it is not easy when you are not getting results but it provides the motivation to get things right.

“Normally what you find when results go against you as a manager, there can be a level of betrayal that kicks in against you as a manager but I have never felt that at all, all the staff, players have been absolutely brilliant in their support.

“If it is not going well for the manager you can get lots of side conversations, but I have not felt that, we are all together, we are all on one page, we have all worked well and now when it is not going so well we are still very much together.

“It’s been very supportive. I am not daft, I understand football, it has not been a great start at all, but the support shows the level of work we have done here and the work of what is going on behind the scenes and an appreciation of what we have been through over the course of the summer.

“It is my responsibility to improve the results, there is no question about that, but I have had nothing but support from within to help us get that.”

Rodgers, who led the Foxes to back-to-back fifth-placed finishes and FA Cup glory in recent seasons, was outspoken last week about how his side’s target this term has changed to just achieving 40 points.

He also commented on his team’s lack of transfers, which raised some eyebrows.

However, he insists it is nothing he has not said to the club.

“I have spoken because I have been the only one speaking and when you have asked me questions, I have been giving honest answers,” he said.

“I don’t know what feathers have been ruffled, there is no intent to do anything of the sort, I am speaking openly and honestly when I am the one speaking on behalf of the club about the situation.

“I have never said anything openly which I haven’t said in our football club. I have been transparent about the situation our football club is at.”

There is some good news ahead of the Villa game, with new signing Wout Faes available after overcoming visa issues.