As we just pass the halfway point in this 2015-16 Premier League season, some managers are under more pressure than others to perform and to keep their own jobs past the end of this season. These five managers are under the most pressure and are likely to get sacked between now and the end of the season.
Louis van Gaal
This one was easy to call. Van Gaal is the most under-pressure manager in the Premier League right now. While the 3-3 against Newcastle shows that United can still score goals, which has been the fans’ biggest criticism, the results are still not there. He is currently leading a team that has spent £250m but is scrapping to get fourth. They entered into the season as potential title contenders. At this stage, it might not be until the end of the season, but the sack is a very, very likely outcome for the Dutchman.
Manuel Pellegrini
The situation that Pellegrini finds himself in isn’t so much his own fault as it is Manchester City’s obsessions with Pep Guardiola. With Guardiola making his intentions known to the world (and barely hiding where his intended destination is), Pellegrini was always going to be sacked after this season. He could win the Premier League and still be on his way out. That being said, his Manchester City currently sit third, behind Arsenal and Leicester, so you can’t necessarily blame Sheikh Mansour for swapping Pellegrini for Guardiola.
Ronald Koeman
This is a strange situation that Southampton find themselves in. They were great under Mauricio Pochettino and even better under Koeman, but this season, they have been underperforming. Well, underperforming is putting it nicely. As of the writing of this article, they are thirteenth in the table. Koeman is in a precarious situation, since he can do better than he has, but he is also battling against the added pressure from their great season last year. Southampton could, and should, show faith in Koeman, but they have been ruthless in the past. Will finishing outside of the top ten be good enough for them this season?
Steve McClaren
Newcastle were always going to struggle this season. Unfortunately, they also have looked like relegation candidates the entire season. McClaren will either get the sack as a last minute panic move or at the end of the season when they’ve been relegated. It will be harsh, since the biggest problems lie elsewhere, but they are the second most likely team to be relegated.
Remi Garde
The manager of the most likely team to be relegated, and with that comes the threat of the sack. He was brought in to save this Aston Villa team, but they just equaled Derby’s record for least amount of points halfway through the season. At the end of the season, we will probably see a message from Villa that Garde has left “of mutual consent”, but we all know what that really means.
