Every Premier League manager ranked by how likely they are to be sacked next
Hal Fish
48 – 60 minutes
In this results-driven business, the margin for error is razor-thin. Erik ten Hag, who narrowly avoided becoming the final managerial casualty after Manchester United’s disastrous 2023-24 season, knows this all too well as he became the first boss dismissed this campaign. Meanwhile, new arrivals like Arne Slot at Liverpool and Enzo Maresca at Chelsea may still have the luxury of time to shape their squads, but others may soon find themselves under intense scrutiny to turn things around.
Read on to find out which managers are sitting comfortably in their positions and which ones might need to keep a wary eye on the shadows of potential successors.
Ranking factors
Overall performance in the Premier League.
Overall performance in external competitions including the FA Cup, League Cup and the Champions League.
Recent form.
Expectations of the club’s hierarchy.
Manager’s legacy within the club.
Fan feeling towards the manager.
21 Arne Slot, Liverpool
Last season’s league finish: 3rd
New Liverpool manager Arne Slot
If there’s any team in world football that stands by the ethos that managers need time, it’s Liverpool. In many cases, Anfield’s helmsman is revered, cherished, and held in higher regard than the players. It’s a rare club tradition, but one that stretches as far back as the pre-Shankly years, with Jurgen Klopp’s tenure the perfect encapsulation of such a notion.
Jose Mourinho and Jurgen Klopp shouting, with Sir Alex Ferguson smiling and clapping.
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20 Mikel Arteta, Arsenal
Last season’s league finish: 2nd
Mikel Arteta
Despite already losing ground on Liverpool in the title race this term, it’s hard to imagine he’ll be let go anytime soon, especially after rediscovering their scintillating form after the November international break courtesy of the return of Martin Odegaard. After a victory against Manchester United, the Gunners then drew two league games on the bounce, but the idea of getting rid of Arteta any time soon is still far from sensible. Especially as their pair of one-pointers were followed up by a 5-1 win over Crystal Palace.
Last season’s league finish: 6th
Enzo Maresca
With Chelsea’s track record of impatient higher-ups, you just never know. After Roman Abramovich spent his time at Stamford Bridge hiring and firing managers like it was going out of fashion, many would have expected less drama under Todd Boehly. Instead, it’s been more of the same. Beyond the billions of pounds spent on new transfers, the Blues also saw Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter, and Frank Lampard all come and go during the 2022/23 campaign, before Mauricio Pochettino failed to make sense of it all and departed after just 12 months at Stamford Bridge.
18 Vitor Pereira, Wolverhampton Wanderers
Last season’s league finish: 14th
Wolves head coach Vitor Pereira smiling
His first game in charge came in the shape of a test with fellow strugglers Leicester City – a game that had every chance of going in the favour of the Foxes. It was with relative ease, however, that he saw his Wolves reign victorious on away soil with a 3-0 win. It may be too early to tell whether the Portuguese will be the long-term option in the Midlands but his start, combined with the plethora of talent at his disposal, provides cause for optimism.
17 Ivan Juric, Southampton
Last season’s league finish: Promoted (Championship)
Ivan Juric
Russell Martin did a superb job with Southampton as the former Swansea City boss secured promotion back to the Premier League at the first time of trying last time out. The jump up from second to first tier, however, proved too onerous, and he was relieved of his duties after the club ran out of patience following a 5-0 defeat to Tottenham.
Ivan Juric, a man known for his hot-headed nature, was appointed on an 18-month contract in the wake of Martin’s departure. Formerly of Torino, Genoa and AS Roma, the seasoned Serie A custodian was in the directors’ box for their impressive 0-0 draw with Fulham recently. He first took charge of the team for their meeting with London club Crystal Palace and while they came out on the losing end, the improvements were there to be seen.
Last season’s league finish: 17th
While he was in charge, Steve Cooper achieved some pretty remarkable things with Nottingham Forest. After all, he helped the club shock the Championship with promotion and then kept them up in their first season back in the top flight. What’s more, he did so while handling a destabilising influx of new signings.
But that is in the past and owner Evangelos Marinakis is more worried about the present and the future. And so, with Forest losing five games out of six, Cooper was sacked and replaced by Nuno Espirito Santo.
15 Ruben Amorim, Manchester United
Last season’s league finish: 8th
How quickly he may fall down this list depends on how his start to life at Old Trafford unfolds. There have already been signs of teething problems with losses to Liverpool, Nottingham Forest, Wolves and Bournemouth in the league, but it’s going to be a project and a 2-1 derby victory over Man City will have massively endeared him to his new fans. All eyes are on the 39-year-old and his three-at-the-back system.
14 Unai Emery, Aston Villa
Last season’s league finish: 4th
The Villans have made a reasonable start to 2024/25, too. The addition of midweek Champions League football has proven to be something of a challenge for Emery’s squad, but now that they’re back in the big time, the Spaniard’s job is incredibly secure – especially since they also won their first three games in the Champions League, including a historic 1-0 victory over Bayern Munich, before falling at the hands of Club Brugge. The idea of finishing in the top four for the second consecutive campaign looks tricky, but you wouldn’t rule it out just yet.
Last season’s league finish: 13th
While Marco Silva did a fine job by keeping Fulham up two terms ago, it was suspected that he may well find the task a little more complicated last season, especially after losing star striker Aleksandar Mitrovic, who scored 14 goals out of Fulham’s 55. The west London-based club’s manager appeared to be pretty frustrated on the touchline in the early stages of the season, and three losses in five Premier League games made for grim reading at one point.
12 Thomas Frank, Brentford
Last season’s league finish: 16th
Thomas Frank
As the man to have led Brentford up into the Premier League for the first time in their history, Thomas Frank has an awful lot of good faith in the bank among the Gtech Community Stadium faithful. After finishing 13th in their debut campaign, the Bees managed to beat any fears of second-season syndrome with a ninth-placed finish in 2022/23.
11 Fabian Hurzeler, Brighton and Hove Albion
Last season’s league finish: 11th
Fabian Hurzeler
Replacing Roberto De Zerbi was no easy task. However, this was exactly what was said about Graham Potter, too. And with Brighton’s unending production line of special players, along with enigmatic managers who know exactly how to get the best from them, it’s safe to predict it’s already proved to be a rinse-and-repeat situation with the arrival of former St Pauli boss, Fabian Hurzeler.
10 Andoni Iraola, Bournemouth
Last season’s league finish: 12th
Bournemouth-Andoni-Iraola
9 Eddie Howe, Newcastle United
Last season’s league finish: 7th
Eddie Howe hands on hips-1
Eddie Howe enjoyed a season of exceeding all expectations in his first full campaign as he helped bring the return of Champions League football to St James’ Park. That, however, makes his job all the more complicated in the following terms as the Saudi-led club now looks to push on even further.
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8 Pep Guardiola, Manchester City
Last season’s league finish: 1st
Having won the Premier League for a record-breaking fourth consecutive time last season, it is quite remarkable that Pep Guardiola could soon come under serious pressure in his position. This absurdity is then only further tightened by the fact that he recently penned a contract extension until the summer of 2027.
7 Oliver Glasner, Crystal Palace
Last season’s league finish: 10th
New Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner with a ball when he was Eintracht Frankfurt coach
When Patrick Vieira was sacked by Crystal Palace in the 2022-23 season, the Eagles looked to be sliding towards the relegation zone. So, what did the club do? They, of course, hired the one man they knew best suited to steady the ship. The only thing, though, is that Roy Hodgson didn’t just steady the ship but instead had it rocking. Indeed, Palace scored goals with ease as they finished comfortably mid-table and so the 77-year-old had a contract laid out in front of him – this time permanently.
6 Ruud van Nistelrooy, Leicester City
Last season’s league finish: Promoted (Championship)
Ruud van Nistelrooy during his Manchester United caretaker reign
Although Ruud van Nistelrooy’s managerial resume is still in its early stages, his impressive interim stint at Manchester United – where he secured three wins and a draw while filling in the blank space between Erik ten Hag and Ruben Amorim – has fuelled excitement among Leicester City fans.
5 Sean Dyche, Everton
Last season’s league finish: 15th
What can be said about Everton that hasn’t been said before over the last few seasons? The Toffees seem to be in some sort of permanent crisis, only to then just about avoid relegation, before then dropping directly right back into the mire again. That seemed to be the case again last term as they failed to score in their first three outings, and after finding some momentum after that with some important wins, Sean Dyche’s team were hit with a 10-point deduction for Financial Fair Play breaches which threw them back into the relegation mix.
Once again, though, Everton have started to turn things around and, aside from a disappointing defeat to Southampton, they’ve been in solid form after getting two draws, against West Ham and Brentford, on the bounce under their belt, before crowning a decent run with a 4-0 home victory over Wolves. They even managed to hold Arsenal and Chelsea to back-to-back 0-0 draws. Classic Dyche-ball.
Last season’s league finish: Promoted (Championship)
kieran-mckenna-ipswich-town
In a very similar vein to Luton Town’s survival efforts last season, Ipswich Town are just happy to be in the Premier League. And when you consider a lot of the reasons behind their promotion were because of Kieran McKenna’s footballing brain, it’s hard to see the Suffolk side losing faith in him, unless, of course, the Tractor Boys really do crash and burn.
3 Julen Lopetegui, West Ham United
Last season’s league finish: 9th
MixCollage-06-Jun-2024-02-29-PM-7955
Another summer arrival in the Premier League is Julen Lopetegui. The former Sevilla and Wolves boss took over from David Moyes at West Ham and, given his experience at all levels of management, the east London fan base were initially excited about what was to come in his maiden campaign in charge. Boasting the likes of Jarrod Bowen and Mohammed Kudus, Lopetegui inherited a side geared towards fighting for European qualification.
2 Ange Postecoglou, Tottenham Hotspur
Last season’s league finish: 5th
Having been at the summit of the Premier League table, a bump in the road saw them unable to keep up with the aforementioned trio of clubs, with Postecoglou’s job security taking a small hit in the process. Spurs continued to plummet last season and things have been nothing short of turbulent this time around.
