NSW Labor MPs have denied any plot to oust beleaguered Premier Nathan Rees and the opposition says a new leader would not improve the government.
Mr Rees' first four months as premier have been dogged by his sacking of two ministers as well as delivering a heavily criticised mini-budget.
The last Newspoll had him behind Opposition Leader Barry O'Farrell as preferred premier, while Labor's primary vote sank to an historic low of 26 per cent.
The Daily Telegraph reported on Thursday a secret agreement was reached just before Christmas to replace Mr Rees with former planning minister Frank Sartor.
Mr Rees, who became premier in September after Morris Iemma was forced out, would be given until March to improve the government's standing or be replaced with Mr Sartor, whom he dumped from cabinet when he took over.
But Mr Rees said his job was not under threat, and any talk on the subject by Labor MPs was just "immature bickering."
"I think this morning's story is a reflection more of a slow news period than anything else," Mr Rees told Macquarie Radio."
A spokeswoman for Frank Sartor said he did not wish to comment on the story, other than to say he was not the source.
The story claimed Health Minister John Della Bosca, Police Minister Tony Kelly, Juvenile Justice Minister Graham West and sacked minister Tony Stewart were among the "plotters".
Mr Della Bosca denies any involvement in the alleged coup.
"I have supported Nathan Rees since Morris Iemma stepped down," he said in a statement.
"A meeting last year discussed ministerial vacancies, but there was no discussion about the leadership."
Mr Kelly also denied any plot, saying the meeting with Mr West and Mr Della Bosca simply discussed the process to replace the two ministers who had been dumped.
"We didn't discuss who would replace them, but we absolutely didn't engage whatsoever about the premier's leadership," he told Macquarie Radio
Mr Rees said disgruntled people within his party could be the source of the story, but he didn't want to be distracted by people with gripes.
"That may be the case, but it's not my job to track them down," he said.
"My job is to get on with delivering services."
Revelling in the government's leadership woes, Acting Opposition Leader Andrew Stoner said the Labor party was starting to resemble a reality television show.
"You've got a succession of premiers being voted out by the housemates," he told reporters.
Mr Stoner said the speculation "made NSW look like it had a new ABN number".
"It's the Anyone But Nathan number and it's large and it's growing," he said.
Mr Stoner said the people of NSW needed a new party, not a new Labor leader.
"There hasn't been any change, from Bob Carr to Morris Iemma to Nathan Rees," he said.
"What the voters of NSW want to see is a government that is not focused on their own internal party mechanisms.
"They want a government that has got the ideas, the policies to fix the hospitals, to fix the traffic congestion, to get some decent public transport and to turn around the state's faltering economy."
