‘Rodgers should reject Tottenham if Mourinho is sacked’

Paul Macdonald

• Updated: 23 May 2023 08:42 CDT
• 4 min read

Brendan Rodgers should not accept the Tottenham job if he is offered the chance to replace Jose Mourinho.

That is the view of former Liverpool and Spurs midfielder Danny Murphy.

READ MORE: Five contenders to replace Jose Mourinho at Spurs

Mourinho is under intense pressure at Tottenham after their awful Europa League collapse at the hands of Dinamo Zagreb.

Tottenham are eighth in the Premier League with the EFL Cup – where they play Man City in the final – their last chance of silverware.

RB Leipzig head coach Julian Nagelsmann and Leicester boss Rodgers have been touted as the leading contenders to replace Mourinho if he loses his role.

‘Tottenham is a job you can turn down’

But Murphy does not think the Tottenham job should be considered attractive enough for ex-Liverpool and Celtic boss Rodgers to leave Leicester for.

“I think he learned a lot from being at Liverpool,” Murphy said to Mail Online.

“Towards the end, maybe he was too public in highlighting disagreements in recruitment.

“He probably realises now it can be better to keep your own counsel even if you think you’re right.

“I said at the time Everton had missed a trick by choosing Marco Silva rather than Rodgers.

“Now there aren’t many clubs he would leave Leicester for.

“There are some jobs you can’t turn down but I wouldn’t see Spurs as one of them.

“He’d need to spend a year or two sorting out some of their problems even to get to the levels Leicester are at now.”

‘Leicester thriving despite selling Chilwell’

Murphy believes the accomplishments of Rodgers at Leicester, who finished fifth last season, are under-rated.

He understands why clubs like Tottenham would be keen to make a move.

Murphy added: “When you consider the budgets available to Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea, I think he deserves more credit for the job he’s done at Leicester.

“People don’t mention the injuries because Brendan himself doesn’t dwell on them.

“But Leicester are third in the table and in Sunday’s FA Cup quarter-final.

“That is despite selling Ben Chilwell and missing Caglar Soyuncu, Ricardo Pereira, James Maddison and James Justin for significant parts of the season.

“I feared for them at one point but Brendan has proved me wrong with his flexibility.

“He generally likes possession football but can adapt for certain opposition.”

Tottenham are away to Aston Villa in the Premier League on Sunday as Mourinho seeks an urgent response.

Leicester, meanwhile, host Man Utd with a place in the FA Cup semi-finals up for grabs.