Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers says he already has a 'top job'

1:07 Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers has played down speculation linking him with other clubs, saying he already has a 'top job' Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers has played down speculation linking him with other clubs, saying he already has a 'top job'

Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers has played down speculation linking him with other clubs, saying he already has a "top job".

He has impressed since returning to the Premier League from Celtic in February, and has led the Foxes to third place after 11 games this season.

That form has made Rodgers one of the favourites with bookmakers to become the next Arsenal or Tottenham manager following both of those clubs' slow starts to the season.

2:58 FREE TO WATCH: Highlights from Leicester's win over Crystal Palace in the Premier League FREE TO WATCH: Highlights from Leicester's win over Crystal Palace in the Premier League

However, the 46-year-old is taking it all in his stride, telling Sky Sports: "If you work well, it's a natural consequence of what happens in this game - you'll get linked to other jobs.

"People link me, at times, to top clubs - I'm already in a top job. This is a fantastic club, a great job for me and in this moment with the ownership we have, the players I have, I'm absolutely loving every minute of it.

"All the gossip and speculation, whether it's for you or against you, is part of the game."

While Rodgers is flying high with Leicester, Arsenal head coach Unai Emery finds himself under pressure with the Gunners six points outside the top four and having won just one of their last six games.

Leicester will be seeking to pile the misery onto Arsenal when they host them at the King Power Stadium on Saturday - live on Sky Sports - but Rodgers understands what his counterpart is going through.

1:44 Brendan Rodgers has tipped Leicester duo Jamie Vardy and Youri Tielemans to become managers when their playing careers are over Brendan Rodgers has tipped Leicester duo Jamie Vardy and Youri Tielemans to become managers when their playing careers are over

"When you're a manager you always have empathy for another manager," he explained. "You understand the pressures, you understand the climate we work in.

"But as a manager you really focus on what you can control. Unai is a proven coach, he's an experienced coach, so he'll be focusing on the performance of the team and not get involved in all the background noise that goes on.

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The Foxes go head to head with Arsenal on Saturday night in a key battle in the race for a top-four finish.

Those sides were the top two in 2015/16 and Leicester have the upper hand again, sitting in third with a six-point cushion on the fifth-placed Gunners.

Could the top-four race really be settled before we have even reached December?

It would have seemed an unthinkable prospect at the start of the season, but the circumstances are such that it has become a distinct possibility.

Will Frank Lampard's Chelsea and Brendan Rodgers' Leicester extend their advantage over Unai Emery's Arsenal this weekend?

Since the 2001/02 campaign, when the Premier League was awarded four Champions League qualification places for the first time, there has never been more than three points separating the team in fifth place and the team in fourth after 11 games.

This season, though, there is already a six-point gap between fifth-placed Arsenal and fourth-placed Chelsea, and it will be widened to nine if Chelsea beat Crystal Palace in Saturday's early kick-off and the Gunners lose to third-placed Leicester, live on Sky Sports later in the day.

Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers says Jose Mourinho "made a huge impact" on his career when he was at Chelsea as a youth coach.

1:41 Brendan Rodgers tells Sky Sports News about the impact Jose Mourinho had on his career while he was a youth coach at Chelsea Brendan Rodgers tells Sky Sports News about the impact Jose Mourinho had on his career while he was a youth coach at Chelsea

Rodgers was brought to Chelsea from Reading during Mourinho's first stint at the club, before making the step up into professional management.

Since leaving Chelsea, Rodgers has taken charge of Reading, Swansea, Liverpool, Celtic and Leicester, winning seven trophies over 11 years.