Leicester City admirers of Thomas Frank as pressure grows on Brendan Rodgers

Brendan Rodgers goes into the international break having conceded that his job at Leicester City is hanging by a thread after defeat at Tottenham Hotspur meant the Premier League’s bottom club’s winless streak is now seven games long, their worst start to a season since 1983-84.

The club are known to be admirers of Brentford manager Thomas Frank, although it is unclear whether they would be able to convince the Dane to switch clubs mid-season, especially with his west London club currently ninth. Former Burnley manager Sean Dyche, who was dismissed in April, will also come into contention. Rodgers signed a new contract in December 2019 that runs another three years and puts him in a strong position when it comes to a pay-out. He admitted that he did not know the intention of owner Aiyawat Srivaddhanaprabha – known as “Top” – as to his future.

Spurs won 6-2 with a second half hat-trick from substitute Heung Min-Son in the space of less than 14 minutes. Asked whether he expected to be manager for Leicester’s next game against Nottingham Forest on Oct 3, Rodgers said: “I don’t know, to be honest. Whatever their decision is, I’ll always respect it. 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: “One hundred per cent. You didn’t see a team playing with no conviction, no authority, no bravery. You’ve seen a team that is doing everything to get back in the game and leaving themselves a little bit open. But I’ve every confidence and it’s a challenge I relish because I’ve never had this spell in my career before. It’s something I definitely do want to continue.”

Antonio Conte said that his decision to drop Son was a signal to his players that they cannot take their places for granted if they want to be part of a trophy-winning club. He said: “I want to bring this team to think with a superior level. Not to think that at Tottenham, ‘I play every game’. If you think like that you won't fight for something important. We've just started this path with the club. Sonny will never be a problem. He’s an amazing player, one of the two best players in my team with Harry [Kane].”