Gary O’Neil secured Wolves’ first win of the season at the weekend but remains a man under pressure with several other Premier League bosses also feeling the heat
Gary O’Neil secured Wolves’ first win of the season at the weekend but remains a man under pressure with several other Premier League bosses also feeling the heat Gary O’Neil secured Wolves’ first win of the season at the weekend but remains a man under pressure with several other Premier League bosses also feeling the heat
Erik ten Hag was the first to fall and now attention has turned to who’s next.
It is about that time that clubs decide whether to stick or twist with their managers. Several clubs remain in and around the relegation spots whilst a few were expecting to be much higher after some heavy summer investment.
The international breaks often represent the ideal time to change the man in the dugout. The two week pause allows time for the dust to settle and a new man, should one be waiting in the wings, a brief period to get his feet under the table and get accustomed to his new surroundings.
It means that the coming fortnight could be crucial with four clubs only enjoying one win so far this term. Even those above them will be looking down.
There were some statement results at the weekend – which will have aided or harmed the prospects of some. Kieran McKenna secured Ipswich’s first win as they stunned Tottenham whilst Wolves won the basement battle with Southampton.
Mirror Football takes a look at the five managers who will be looking over their shoulders with recent results not going their way.
Gary O’Neil
The Wolves boss secured the win he so craved on Saturday as they downed Southampton at Molinuex. A loss against their bottom three rivals could well have been curtains for O’Neil, whose credit in the bank is beginning to dry up after a poor run of results that dates back to last season.
The win lifted them off the bottom but still leaves them in the relegation zone. Once domestic football returns there’s no international break until March and the Wolves hierarchy will know it might be a case or now or never if they want to rescue their season.
Russell Martin
The man downed by O’Neil and Wolves. Southampton too have just the one win this term and but they have lost all but two of their 11 games so far this term. Martin deflected attention from his team’s loss on Saturday to some of the VAR decisions and insists he isn’t concerned about his future – but the Championship play-off winners often have the toughest task in staying up and those at Southampton need to decide if someone else can do a better job.
“It will be what it will be,” said Martin at the weekend. “We work as hard as we can, give as much care, love and commitment to the players as we can. The rest is out of my control. I don’t sweat it or focus on it.”
Oliver Glasner
Defeat at home to Fulham meant that Crystal Palace slipped back into the bottom three. All the good feeling and optimism ahead of the new season has well and truly gone with the Eagles certainly making themselves part of the early relegation picture a quarter of the way through the season.
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Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)
Glasner worked heroics when he arrived last season, making Palace one of the most eye-catching teams in the Premier League. They retained the majority of their top players in the summer but have endured a steep decline with just the one win so far this term, but the quality of the squad is far better than their 18th spot.
Steve Cooper
Leicester have fared the best of the promoted sides but all three are struggling and the Foxes were outclassed in their loss at Manchester United. Defeat at Old Trafford is by no means a disgrace, and Cooper has largely made his side competitive in the majority of their games.
He was only appointed in the summer and is likely to have the backing of the club’s hierarchy for the foreseeable. But Leicester remain ambitious with an impressive infrastructure off the pitch and they will not tolerate a second relegation in the space of three seasons.
Julen Lopetegui
When West Ham hired a Europa League-winning manager and gave him more than £100million in the summer they did not anticipate fending off the threat of relegation. Instead they probably sought a challenge for European football but that is not the way its turning out.
Had the Hammers not secured the last minute win over the Red Devils then they’d sit just four points above the bottom three. Several of their summer signings are not firing as expected and Lopetegui, who was largely impressive at Wolves, is not having the impact many expected.
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