UPDATE 1-Soccer-Rodgers aims for the top after extending Leicester contract until 2025

Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers said on Friday that he wants to lead the club back to the summit of the Premier League after extending his contract with the Foxes until June 2025.

Rodgers, who left Scottish side Celtic to take charge at Leicester in February, has overseen a change in fortunes at 2015-16 champions who now sit second in the league standings with the best defensive record, having conceded only nine goals. The Northern Irishman was linked with the Arsenal job after they sacked Unai Emery last week and created a stir when he said there was a "release clause" in his contract. He has since reiterated his desire to continue working at Leicester.

"When I made the decision to come to Leicester City, it was because I was excited about the direction the club was taking and how I could apply my experience to the journey," he said in a statement https://www.lcfc.com/news/1519565/brendan-rodgers-signs-new-leicester-city-contract/press-release. "I came here with a purpose to add something to that and to help the club build for the future.

"I've inherited an outstanding team of staff that are dedicated to progress and improvement and we have a group of players that are a joy to work with every day." Leicester have won 11 of their last 13 games -- including their last seven -- to leapfrog defending champions Manchester City and sit eight points behind leaders Liverpool.

"We want to keep progressing," Rodgers told reporters ahead of Sunday's match at Aston Villa. "When I speak to (chairman Khun) Top I understand where they want to go, which is to the very top. "We've got fantastic owners. We don't have the wealth of the top clubs, but can we get to the top in a different way. We want to be competing and fighting."

Leicester's rise has coincided with the renaissance under Rodgers of 32-year-old striker Jamie Vardy who leads the league's scoring chart with 14 goals -- including nine in his last seven. "He deserves the credit. He has the profile of the player I like," Rodgers said. "Sometimes players get into their 30s and they can be written off. You can see his speed.

"It was just a case of him fitting in and it was fairly easy. The huge praise goes to him for the consistency and hunger."

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