Brendan Rodgers
Leicester City boss Brendan Rodgers is thankful he has not been betrayed by his staff and players amid the club’s winless run. Rodgers said managers can find their colleagues turning against them in difficult times, but he insisted that has not been the case at City and said that the togetherness is giving him the determination to continue striving for the club’s first win. Rodgers has lost his last five games in charge, having never previously had a run of three defeats as City boss. He has twice been sacked at previous clubs, losing his jobs at Reading and Liverpool after poor runs of form. His other jobs, at Watford, Swansea, and Celtic, he chose to leave of his own accord.
Brendan Rodgers said: “First and foremost I love being here. My record here is in concrete in terms of what we’ve done and what our performances have been, but also of late it’s not been to the level. My career has been built on resilience and it’s certainly something that you need in this industry. It’s how I’ve arrived at where I have. Because I was not a big player. I had to coach, I had to work with and manage players and it’s not all been plain sailing in my career, so the strength is very easy to come by. It’s difficult when you are not getting the results but it provides you with the motivation to make it right. Normally what you find when results go against you maybe as a manager, and I’ve been at a number of clubs now, there can be a level of betrayal that kicks in against you, but I’ve never felt that here at all. All the staff, players, everyone have been absolutely brilliant in their support. We just keep working hard and look to get back to a consistent level. That’s what gives me the strength and the determination. Normally what happens at clubs is if it’s not going well for the manager you can get side conversations that take place but I’ve never felt that at all. We’re all on one page. We’ve all celebrated for a few years, done really well, worked well, and now when it’s not going so well we’re all still very much together.”
Rodgers said he has the support of the hierarchy too, and that there is an understanding of the situation from the board because of the lack of transfer activity in the summer.
Brendan Rodgers added: “They have been very supportive. I’m not daft. I understand football and it’s not been a great start at all but I think their support probably shows the level of work we’ve done here and the work behind the scenes. And also an appreciation of the difficulty of where we’ve been over the summer. It’s my responsibility to improve results, no question about that. I’ve had nothing but support from within to help us get that.”
