Erik ten Hag has won the Premier League sack race by being fired from Manchester United before the calendar even turns to November, but once the first manager falls, eyes turn to who will follow. As the relegation picture becomes more clear around the league, managers’ seats begin to get hot, but there is one who doesn’t need to worry at the lower reaches of the table — Kieran McKenna of Ipswich Town.
The Tractor Boys sit 18th, only two points from safety after and on a run of three consecutive losses, but they’ve been quite competitive despite allowing 20 goals in league play and having yet to win. With a roster that wasn’t fit for life in the Premier League and after giving Mckenna a new contract heading into the campaign, even if Ipswich go down, he’ll likely be the man at the helm.
The same may not be said about other managers on this list, so let’s take a look at who around the Premier League could be concerned about the future:
Likely safe: Eddie Howe, Newcastle United
After coming under new ownership, ambitions were high for Newcastle United with cash being splashed and the club qualifying for the Champions League. But then they disappointed, crashing out in the group stage last season and also failed to finish in the top four for consecutive seasons. Behind another sluggish start, the Magpies have already slipped to 12th. They may be six points off the pace of Aston Villa in fourth but passing so many teams is easier said than done.
With the injuries and suspensions that Newcastle have had to deal with, there’s a chance that a move wouldn’t be made about Howe until the end of the season, but scoring a goal per game despite having strong attackers in Anthony Gordon and Alexander Isak, something needs to change. If it doesn’t happen soon, Newcastle again look set to miss out on Europe, which may prompt change.
Concern is growing: Oliver Glasner, Crystal Palace
No manager had a bigger new manager bump than Oliver Glasner taking over for Roy Hodgson last season, but without Michael Olise and with more game tape on Palace’s available to other teams, the goals have dried up as they’ve been figured out. Jean-Phillipe Mateta and Eddie Nketiah have struggled to lead the line and everything has seemed disjointed. If not for defeating Tottenham to get out of the relegation zone, Glasner may have ranked higher in this list, but if he stays out of the bottom three, he may get enough time to get the attack clicking.
If a team swoops in for Eberechi Eze in January, that could be the final straw that sees Crystal Palace drop into a relegation spiral that they can’t play their way out of.
We’re bubbling: Gary O’Neil, Wolverhampton Wanderers
Taking over Wolves last season, Gary O’Neil was quite impressive in securing a 14th-place finish, only three points away from finishing in the top half. That’s all gone now. Pedro Neto has departed for Chelsea, the midfield has disintegrated and no team has allowed more goals than Wolves’ 25. Not much is going right as nine matches into the season, Wolves don’t have a single victory and their next two matches will be critical. Facing Crystal Palace and Southampton, losing either of those could be the final straw due to losing ground to other sides looking to stave off relegation.
The floor is lava: Russell Martin, Southampton
In some ways, it’s surprising that Russell Martin hasn’t already been let go by Southampton after only picking up one point in nine games. The Saints have scored a league-low six goals while allowing 19 for the second-worst goal difference at minus-13 and it shows no signs of improving. No matter what combinations of attackers that Southampton try, they can’t seem to find the net, and scoring is what’s most important to avoiding the drop. Before long, five points could balloon to 10, and from there, securing safety will become quite improbable.
Dark horse candidate: Ange Postecoglou, Tottenham
Tottenham shouldn’t move on from Ange Postecoglou. But, they’re also in eighth place in the Premier League despite having the third-best goal difference in the league and either defeat teams 4-1 or lose 1-0 with no in between. Consistency is what’s lacking in Ange-ball but working in Dominic Solanke while missing Heung-min Son for some of the season will lead to that. The defense does need to be better and this team does need to compete for a Champions League spot but there are multiple routes to that.
With nine points from nine in Europa League play so far, that’s something that is going according to plan but if that spirals without league play improving, the pressure may prove to be too much. The pressure on him is high. How patient will Spurs be if that consistency isn’t met?
