Leicester City have announced the departure of manager Brendan Rodgers by mutual agreement.
The 50-year-old departs with the Foxes sat 18th in the Premier League table following their 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace on Saturday afternoon.
Leicester's loss at Selhurst Park marked their sixth defeat from their last seven games in all competitions, and they will plummet further down the rankings if there is a winner in West Ham United's clash with 20th-placed Southampton on Sunday.
The Foxes are the only team in the Premier League without a clean sheet since the World Cup, and they were knocked out of the FA Cup in the fifth round by Championship side Blackburn Rovers in February.
Rodgers was under contract with Leicester until the end of the 2024-25 season, but the ex-Liverpool boss was facing calls to depart in the wake of the Foxes' torrid 2022-23 campaign.
Assistant Manager Chris Davies and First Team Fitness Coach Glen Driscoll have also departed alongside Rodgers, with coaches Adam Sadler and Mike Stowell currently responsible for overseeing first-team training ahead of Tuesday's clash with Aston Villa.
Leicester chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha expressed his gratitude to Rodgers in a statement, but he admitted that action was necessary due to performances being "below our shared expectations".
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"The achievements of the team under Brendan's management speak for themselves – we've experienced some of our finest footballing moments under his guidance and will always be grateful to him and his staff for the heights they helped us to reach on the pitch," Srivaddhanaprabha told lcfc.com.
"Off the pitch, Brendan embraced the culture of the Club and helped cultivate an outstanding developmental environment, particularly during the transition to Seagrave, and provided strong leadership during the unprecedented challenge of the coronavirus pandemic. His place in Leicester City history is assured.
"However, performances and results during the current season have been below our shared expectations. It had been our belief that continuity and stability would be key to correcting our course, particularly given our previous achievements under Brendan's management.
"Regrettably, the desired improvement has not been forthcoming and, with 10 games of the season remaining, the Board is compelled to take alternative action to protect our Premier League status.
"The task ahead of us in our final 10 games is clear. We now need to come together – fans, players and staff – and show the poise, quality and fight to secure our position as a Premier League club."
Rodgers waved goodbye to Celtic in February 2019 to take charge at the King Power, and he departs having overseen 96 wins, 37 draws and 71 losses from his 204 games in charge.
Under the Northern Irishman, Leicester won their first-ever FA Cup crown in the 2020-21 season before defeating Manchester City to win the Community Shield a couple of months later.
Rodgers has become the 11th Premier League coach to leave his post this season after Thomas Tuchel, Scott Parker, Ralph Hasenhuttl, Patrick Vieira, Bruno Lage, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Jesse Marsch, Nathan Jones and Antonio Conte.
Ben Knapton
