Brendan Rodgers admits relief at Tottenham Hotspur snub

Brendan Rodgers has described his decision to snub Tottenham Hotspur in favour of Liverpool as a "close shave".

Andre Villas-Boas parted company with the North London outfit on Monday following a 5-0 defeat to Rodgers's men a day previous.

The Northern Irishman had been in the frame to replace Harry Redknapp at White Hart Lane in 2012 and the Reds boss feels a sense of relief over not accepting the role.

When asked to reflect on his link with Spurs, the Reds boss told The Guardian: "A close shave. They are a great club and one of the things I looked at was their history.

"They'd had 11 managers in 18 years there, so for someone like myself, who needed to create something, I needed to go to a club that was going to give that opportunity."

Liverpool lie second in the Premier League table, two points adrift of leaders Arsenal.