The people who run Premier League clubs always seem overly prepared to make a managerial change, so much so that Nottingham Forest swapped Nuno Espirito Santo for Ange Postecoglou just three games into the season. It is seemingly never too early to believe a crisis is taking shape and that the only way to fix that is by firing one coach and replacing him with another, which forces the question: Who’s next?
Five weeks into the new season, the bad news for a few managers is that they could very conceivably be out of a job any day now. Fans were singing that West Ham’s Graham Potter would be sacked in the morning after their defeat to Crystal Palace on Saturday, while Ruben Amorim was busy invoking Pope Leo XIV while defending his rigid tactical approach in a press conference on Friday. These are the type of antics that define life on the hot seat for managers, things spiraling out of control until the chaos makes the long-awaited firing inevitable.
The sack may come for all of these managers sooner rather than later, since a long season is still ahead. Some coaches are closer to being unemployed than others, though, at this point stuck in a situation that feels almost hopeless – whether or not it was of their own creation.
Here’s a look at the managers who, like it or not, lead the Premier League sack race.
Honorable mention: Scott Parker, Burnley
It is never too early to panic in the Premier League, but Burnley are keeping just enough distance from a state of crisis for the time being. They have four points from five games, nicking a point off Nottingham Forest on Saturday and keeping things close in one goal losses to Liverpool and Manchester United. It may not be the type of thing that will actually save them from relegation, but Scott Parker can at least make a case if he’s asked to defend himself. Things could change quickly, though, so Parker may not be off this list for long.
4. Unai Emery, Aston Villa
If anyone deserves the benefit of the doubt, it is Unai Emery, a three-time UEFA Europa League winner who steered Aston Villa to a run to the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals last season. There is a reason he is being name-dropped here, though — Villa are the only team in England‘s top seven divisions to have not scored a single goal through four games and entered the weekend inside the relegation zone. Some of Villa’s issues can be attributed to their troubles with the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules, but Emery’s side actually managed to hold onto several key players, which has made their poor start so strange. Emery is not realistically at risk of losing his job — things have to regress to the mean at some point, don’t they? If he cannot manage to turn things around soon, though, it will put some real pressure on the manager to perform, no matter how surprising all of this would have been a few months ago.
3. Ruben Amorim, Manchester United
Ruben Amorim seems to have a permanent spot on this list, but as things stand, he has managed to find a way to climb out of the top spot. Their 2-1 win against Chelsea on Saturday — marred by a red card to each side — likely bought him a few more days in the job, even if it did little to address any actual concerns that he might not be the right fit for the job. United are surprisingly amongst the Premier League’s statistical leaders in attack, but their defense continues to crumble against most opponents and Amorim’s tactical inflexibility will likely still be talking points for the foreseeable future. He’s not out of the woods just yet.
2. Vítor Pereira, Wolverhampton Wanderers
With zero points after five games, Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Vítor Pereira is as obvious an inclusion on a list like this as any. Losses to Manchester City and Newcastle United can be forgiven but when you’re collecting 3-1 losses to newly-promoted Leeds United, it may be time for a change. It might not be all Pereira’s fault, since Wolves’ squad has not really improved in a few years, but he may not have what it takes to take them out of this mess, either.
1. Graham Potter, West Ham United
It is easy to break out into a song about managers getting sacked in the morning, but in Graham Potter’s case, it just might be true. They have become the punching bag of the league, conceding three-plus goals in all but one of their matches this season and earning a spot in the bottom three that is only appropriate for such form. Potter cannot be completely blamed for a crisis that pre-dates him, but he has not made things better, either, and it makes one wonder why he even took the job in the first place. If Slaven Bilic’s name is being tossed around as a potential successor, though, it feels right to call time on Potter’s spell with the Hammers, however, short it may end up being.
