The Premier League is nearing its conclusion and yet there are a handful of managers, those at the very top of their field, under severe and increasing pressure.
Liverpool's aborted title defence has caused Arne Slot to face jeers and boos at Anfield as he clings on to the hope that a Champions League campaign can change the minds of his detractors.
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Eddie Howe, the face and inspiration of a new-look Newcastle, has seen the pressure ramp up following a 2-1 derby defeat to Sunderland that left the Magpies floundering in the bottom half of the table.
They're in a more secure position than Tottenham and Igor Tudor, however, with Spurs perched just a point above the relegation zone. They are yet to win a league game in 2026.
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Fellow fresh face Liam Rosenior, too, is facing calls to end his short-lived tenure in England. Chelsea are staring at the prospect of missing out on Champions League football next season, despite replacing Enzo Maresca with Rosenior in January.
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Here, Express Sport and a few experts take a look at each manager's situation, whether they should be dismissed, and who could step in to replace them...
Liverpool and Arne Slot
Stephen Killen
Ultimately, it can't go on like this much longer for Liverpool and Arne Slot has to find the answers quickly, but that has been the case for a number of months. There has rarely been a sacking culture at Anfield, and those in the hot seat have previously been given appropriate time to fix their issues until their position became untenable. You would suspect the same for the Dutchman, who has faced unprecedented circumstances and mitigating factors behind some of the dour results and performances. With the success of last season, he should be given the chance to have a fully-fit squad to turn it around between now and the end of May.
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The Reds have become uninspiring and abject in equal measure this season and there is a feeling among Liverpool supporters that Slot might not be in situ in August. The Anfield hierarchy proved with the appointment of the former Feyenoord head coach that they tend to work outside the box, so Slot's replacement may not be as standout as it may seem. Former midfielder Xabi Alonso is considered the favourite, but reports previously suggested that the likes of Stuttgart's Sebastian Hoeness see his data score similar to that of Jurgen Klopp, having impressed after steering the German side to second place in 2023/24 and another European challenge this term, where they sit third.
Jack McEachen
Football fans have short memories. Less than a year ago, Arne Slot was coasting to the Premier League title and heralded as the greatest manager on the planet. Now, he's deemed out of depth and needs to be sacked. The reality lies somewhere in the middle. In some ways, after one historic season and another disaster, the slate has been wiped clean.
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But perhaps more crucially, Liverpool are still in the Champions League. They could win Europe's top competition, surely there is no danger of Slot getting sacked while that is still a possibility.
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Those in charge at Anfield are patient and considerate, they won't make a move without weighing up all the factors.
But with a healthy Alexander Isak at his disposal and a more well-equipped Florian Wirtz, there will be no excuses for Slot should he fail to restore Liverpool to the top of the table.
Archie Griggs
Unfortunately for the Dutchman, there is no room for sentiment at the very highest level. Although he delivered Liverpool the Premier League title last season, their current plight suggests that a change is needed for the Reds to return to their best.
Questions remain about whether Slot was actually the driving force behind last season's title, or if he simply inherited a winning team built during Jurgen Klopp's tenure. Either way, the feel-good factor is well and truly gone and I can't see a miraculous recovery on the horizon. It's time for Slot to go, but with thanks and best wishes for the future.
Charlie Malam
Liverpool have won nine of their last 26 Premier League games, losing 10. It’s mid-table form. If they get Champions League, it’s pure luck, because Chelsea have faltered. The performance and win over Galatasaray has bought Slot more time, for sure.
But even if they can recreate that display twice against PSG, they’ll concede too many goals and go out. Man City will dump them out of the FA Cup too. Fifth or lower, and no trophy, is a massive failure for the champions. Slot will pay the price but Xabi Alonso shouldn’t be his replacement. If you can’t prise Luis Enrique out of Paris, Julian Nagelsmann or Stuttgart’s Sebastian Hoeness can bring back the high-press blood and thunder football back to Anfield.
Chelsea and Liam Rosenior
Jack McEachen
Liam Rosenior has been at Chelsea for all of two months, how is there so much pressure on him already?
When you hire someone like Rosenior, a 41-year-old with less than 200 games managed under his belt, and none in the Premier League before this year, you accept that he is a project hire.
You grow with him and give him the tools to succeed over time. He's barely had a transfer window and with two games a week since he took over, no time to leave any sort of mark on this squad.
Chelsea may well miss out on the Champions League. But that should never have been the only objective to judge Rosenior on.
And if Rosenior is sacked so quickly then good luck attracting the best in his field to Stamford Bridge, why would they bother if this is the treatment they will get?
Archie Griggs
I'm generally not a fan of writing managers off too early unless it's abundantly clear that things aren't going to work out. But in this case, it's obvious that Rosenior is totally out of his depth and shouldn't have been given the Chelsea job in the first place.
I'm also not entirely convinced that he's destined to be a manager, with his nauseating soundbites and unusual quirks making him look more like a poor imitation of David Brent or an overzealous LinkedIn influencer than a top-level head coach.
Charlie Malam
He was never the right man and he’s not the long-term solution but let’s make it clear - Chelsea’s issues are much bigger than just the manager. They will still exist after Rosenior unless BlueCo adopt their strategy of simply hoovering up the next generation’s talents. Work on signing more Joao Pedro-level players.
If Chelsea miss out on top five, which is very feasible with their fixtures, Rosenior will go. Cesc Fabregas would be a fun replacement. His Como team play some of most exciting football across Europe and he has a connection with the club even though his allegiance is still more to Arsenal. If Chelsea want a win-now manager instead, get Carlo Ancelotti back post-World Cup and give him some more players ready to be elite immediately.
Newcastle and Eddie Howe
Lee Ryder
Changing manager with seven games left would be a major call by Newcastle United chiefs and from what I understand it's something they have not planned for, so they would be starting the search from scratch.
The plan in place is that Eddie Howe, Ross Wilson and David Hopkinson get their first crack at a summer window and pre-season planning unless there is a decision from the powers that be in PIF. Few can predict what PIF are thinking.
My own view is that Newcastle should battle on with Howe and his staff in the final seven games and give them the chance to perform and deliver a European place. Then it would be on to the summer.
Howe has credit in the bank but that won't last forever and there can be no excuses for the poor game management this season and two derby defeats. Going out the domestic cups to Man City is no disgrace nor is losing to a world-class Barcelona side.
But Newcastle's Premier League position is not good enough and failure to qualify for Europe at all would leave the board with a bigger decision to make this summer.
Howe's future lies in the balance. And regardless of last season's Carabao Cup victory, a lot of fans online and on the streets feel that things have reached an unsatisfactory level.
Jack McEachen
Newcastle have long described their ambition to be number one. It's time to start acting like it.
Eddie Howe is a fine manager and has served Newcastle well, but he is not among the European elites, at least at the defensive element of the game.
The club will point to PSR as they so often do, but managers are inexpensive compared to players. It's time to get the chequebook out and bring someone in who will get Newcastle competing for titles, as they hoped to do when PIF first took over.
Carlo Ancelotti, Luis Enrique, Julian Nagelsmann, Gareth Southgate, Mauricio Pochettino. That's just five elite coaches who could be available after the World Cup. It's time to upgrade.
Archie Griggs
It's been a turbulent season for Newcastle, but a knee-jerk decision on Howe's future in the wake of a painful derby defeat isn't the way to go. Over the years, he has taken the Magpies from mid-table irrelevancy to the upper echelon of English football, regularly qualifying for Europe and competing for trophies with the country's biggest clubs.
The bottom line is that Howe shouldn't be made the fall guy for one sub-par campaign. He is a future England manager in the making and Newcastle would do well to remember that the grass isn't always greener, as countless clubs have discovered before them.
Charlie Malam
It feels like the natural end of the road for the Howe Newcastle project. Overall, he’s done a really good job and he’ll go down in the club’s history. But as the Magpies now look to go to the next level, and regularly compete for major trophies, they need an upgrade.
Roberto De Zerbi is a better coach but also causes friction, which makes him the polar opposite of Howe. I really like Marco Silva, who will be a free agent this summer, but Andoni Iraola might be the best option. His style of play would chime well with the Geordie fanbase and he’s done a great job at Bournemouth. Newcastle have a better squad and the resources to improve it further. They just need to keep the likes of Lewis Hall and Bruno Guimaraes.
Tottenham and Igor Tudor
Jack McEachen
Absolutely nothing has gone right for Tottenham this season, to the point where there are very few surprised faces that Igor Tudor has found himself in this position after taking over from Thomas Frank.
They are in serious danger of relegation and with a manager at the helm that is taking them in the wrong direction.
Spurs have a squad with bags of talent, relative to their position, and just need the right person to motivate them for the remaining seven matches.
There's a dearth of options. But Ryan Mason could certainly inspire some confidence. I still think Mauricio Pochettino could take a few weeks out of his World Cup preparation to save Spurs, but it seems unlikely.
Archie Griggs
It's genuinely impressive how Tudor has managed to make a pathetic Tottenham side look even worse in only a few short weeks at the helm. He was never the right choice to begin with, which probably says more about how badly the club is run than his own managerial credentials.
It goes without saying that he won't be there at the start of next season and you could even argue that he should be sacked immediately, before he plunges Tottenham even deeper into relegation trouble. That is a decision for the north Londoners to weigh up before the Premier League returns after the international break.
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Who do you get? Maybe Harry Redknapp. Or Ryan Mason. You need someone familiar to just breathe a bit of life and confidence back into these players. Tudor clearly doesn’t do that. It’s a mess. He’s tried a lot, and none of it has worked. It’s crazy he’s lasted this long. No other Premier League club would hire him right now. The same wouldn’t be said about Rob Edwards at Wolves, which says it all.
