Four games into the new Premier League season, the managerial pressure cooker is already beginning to heat up though there is still a long way to go in the 2026/27 campaign, and no manager should reasonably be judged on four matches alone. But football has never been particularly patient, especially when results fail to match expectations.
The table already tells part of the story. Coventry City are bottom without a point or a goal, Tottenham have also failed to score in four matches, while Aston Villa and Fulham have managed just one point apiece.
Manchester United are 13th with four points after Sunday’s 1-0 defeat to Manchester City. Bournemouth, Crystal Palace and Sunderland have also made slow starts.
TheAthleticNG’s takes a look at the ranking of the 10 Premier League managers currently most vulnerable, counting down from the one under the least immediate pressure to the man whose situation looks most precarious.
10. Régis Le Bris – Sunderland
Régis Le Bris – Sunderland manager since 2024. Photocredit: Getty Images
Le Bris is perhaps the clearest example of why a poor start does not automatically translate into sack pressure.
The Frenchman has been in charge of Sunderland since 2024 and guided them back to the Premier League before overseeing a seventhplace finish last season, a remarkable campaign that brought European football to the club.
This season has started less impressively. Sunderland have one win, one draw and two defeats from their opening four matches, leaving them on four points and 14th in the table.
Their latest setback came against Arsenal, who won 2-0 at the Stadium of Light. so there is pressure, but not yet a crisis.
Le Bris has already built substantial credit on Wearside, and Sunderland’s expectations remain more realistic than those of several clubs above them in the financial hierarchy.
9. Andoni Iraola — Liverpool
On 4 June 2026, Iraola signed as head coach of Liverpool on a two-year contract replacing Arne Slotwho had been dismissed on 30 May. His first match in charge was on 23 August, a 2–2 draw at Newcastle United. Photocredit: Getty Images
Iraola is an interesting addition because the numbers do not scream crisis looking at the fact that Liverpool are unbeaten but that is almost where the comfort ends.
The new Liverpool manager has won just one of his opening four Premier League matches, drawing the other three. The latest was a frustrating 0-0 draw with Fulham at Anfield, a result that left Liverpool still searching for consistency despite a midweek Champions League victory over Atletico Madrid.
The problem for Iraola is the size of the club and the scale of the expectations. Liverpool did not simply appoint a new manager and make minor adjustments to the squad.
They spent heavily during the summer, with the arrival of Bradley Barcola alone reportedly costing around £120 million, while Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz and other major additions have transformed the attacking options available to the Spaniard.
Liverpool’s summer recruitment formed part of a squad overhaul reported to be worth around £400 million. that makes three draws from four feel considerably less comfortable than the unbeaten record suggests.
READMORE: Unusual International break is coming: Everything to know as AFCON qualifiers, Nations League and friendlies take centre stage
Liverpool began with 2-2 draws against Newcastle and Nottingham Forest before finally beating Ipswich 2-0, with Isak scoring twice. But they then returned to Anfield and failed to beat a Fulham side that had lost its previous three league matches.
Iraola himself acknowledged before the Fulham game that Liverpool needed a first league win and, after four matches, the underlying concern has shifted from simply getting that first victory to making an expensively assembled team actually click.
There is no suggestion that Liverpool are about to dismiss him, but the eyes are certainly on him.
At a club expected to challenge near the top of the table, one win and three draws is not a record that can remain acceptable indefinitely, particularly with the quality and investment now at Iraola’s disposal.
8. Oliver Glasner — Nottingham Forest
Glasner was appointed as head coach of Nottingham Forest on the 6th of July 2026 following Vítor Pereira’s departure. Photocredit: Getty Images
Glasner’s situation is more intriguing because of the expectations surrounding Nottingham Forest and the club’s remarkable managerial turnover in recent years.
The Austrian arrived at Forest this summer after his highly successful spell at Crystal Palace, where he helped deliver the club’s first major trophy.
His Forest side have taken five points from four matches, winning at Aston Villa, drawing with Liverpool and Tottenham, and losing narrowly to Leeds.
That record hardly screams sack. In fact, the 2-1 victory at Villa Park on Saturday provided a significant boost, with Forest recovering from a difficult opening defeat to Leeds.
But Forest has been eliminated in EFL Cup by the same opponent who beat them in the league opener and Forest are also a club where managerial patience has historically been tested quickly.
Glasner therefore makes the list less because of his current numbers and more because of the environment around him.
7. Pierre Sage — Crystal Palace
On the back of his success at Lens, Sage was appointed manager of Premier League team Crystal Palace in June 2026 on a three-year contract. Photocredit: Getty Images
Sage has had a difficult introduction to English football. The Frenchman replaced Glasner during the summer after an impressive period at Lens, but his first four Premier League matches have produced just one victory and three defeats.
Palace are 16th with three points, and Saturday’s 3-2 home defeat to Ipswich was particularly damaging because they had led before collapsing late in the contest.
The problem is not simply the points tally. Palace have lost three of their first four matches and conceded nine goals, leaving Sage with an early defensive problem to solve.
The counterargument is obvious, he has only just arrived. Sacking a manager after four games would represent an extraordinary level of impatience, particularly when the club deliberately chose Sage as the man to begin a new era. But another few defeats would change the conversation quickly.
6. Marco Rose — Bournemouth
On 20 April 2026, it was announced that Rose would succeed Andoni Iraola as head coach of Premier League club Bournemouth for the 2026–27 season, He officially began work in the role on 1 June 2026. his first official match as the head coach of AFC Bournemouth was a 2-1 away defeat against Manchester City. Photocredit: Getty Images
Rose’s Bournemouth story is an interesting one because the results are poor without necessarily being disastrous.
The German replaced Andoni Iraola during the summer after the Spaniard’s successful spell at the club, which culminated in European qualification.
Four matches into Rose’s tenure, Bournemouth are still waiting for their first league victory.
They have drawn three and lost one, leaving them with three points. Their latest game ended 2-2 against Brentford after they had twice taken the lead.
That means Rose has not yet produced the result Bournemouth need, but there have been enough competitive performances to suggest the team is not falling apart.
His problem is the comparison with Iraola. Bournemouth have changed managers after reaching Europe, and Rose therefore has to prove quickly that he can maintain the momentum rather than oversee a regression.
5. Unai Emery — Aston Villa
On 24 October 2022, Emery was appointed as head coach of Aston Villa after the Premier League team paid a buyout fee of a reported €6 million (£5.2 million) to Villarreal. Due to work permit formalities, he did not take up his post until 1 November. Photocredit: Getty Images
Emery is where the sack conversation becomes much more complicated because on pure numbers, Villa’s start is dreadful.
They have one point from four games, three defeats and just one goal scored. Saturday’s 2-1 home defeat to Nottingham Forest was the first goal of the season but it left them 19th in the table.
But Emery is not a manager arriving at a club without history. He has been one of the most successful coaches in Aston Villa’s modern era, transforming the club into a European contender and taking them into the Champions League.
That record buys him enormous credit. The concern is that Villa are not merely losing matches; they are struggling to score and have already conceded 10 goals.
Emery himself accepted responsibility after the Forest defeat, while the pressure surrounding the club continues to grow.
4. Michael Carrick — Manchester United
Carrick returned to Manchester United on 13 January 2026 to take over as head coach until the end of the 2025–26 season. Photocredit: Getty Images
And now we reach the manager whose name has suddenly moved much higher on the conversation list. Carrick entered the season with a completely different expectation from many of the managers above him.
After taking United to third place last season and securing Champions League football, he was expected to build on that progress. Instead, United have four points from their opening four matches.
They lost to Hull on the opening weekend, beat Ipswich 5-2, drew 2-2 with Everton and then suffered Sunday’s 1-0 defeat to Manchester City at Old Trafford. United are now 13th.
The Manchester derby defeat is what changes the temperature. United had a numerical advantage for more than an hour after Phil Foden was sent off, yet they failed to find a goal before Erling Haaland eventually won the match for City.
READMORE: Falconets through to Round of 16 as only African side left in U-20 Women’s World Cup
The controversial circumstances surrounding the goal provide Carrick with some ammunition, with Pro Ref later acknowledging that the VAR process was mishandled. But the bigger concern for United is that they still failed to turn their advantage into three points.
Carrick’s previous work means he should not suddenly be regarded as a manager on the verge of dismissal.
But this is Manchester United. four points from four matches is not a comfortable position, particularly when the club has returned to the Champions League and expectations have risen.
3. Álvaro Arbeloa — Fulham
On the 7th of July 2026 Fulham appointed Arbeloa as their new head coach on a three-year contract, replacing Marco Silva who had left to join Benfica. Photocredit: Imago
Arbeloa is one of the most fascinating names on this list because his situation has attracted considerable attention despite Fulham’s most recent result offering some relief.
Fulham have won none of their opening four league games, drawing once and losing three times and that leaves them 18th with just one point.
The defeats have included narrow losses to Chelsea and Crystal Palace, as well as a 1-0 defeat at Sunderland. But Fulham’s latest outing brought a valuable point at Anfield, where Liverpool were held to a goalless draw.
That result may buy Arbeloa some breathing space, but the broader picture remains uncomfortable.
The Spaniard is attempting to establish himself in the Premier League while Fulham try to avoid being dragged into an early relegation battle.
And unlike some of the managers below him, there is not yet a large body of Premier League success to provide protection an that makes the next few matches important to save his young career because he is one of the managers genuinely sitting in the danger zone.
2. Roberto De Zerbi — Tottenham Hotspur
De Zerbi was appointed by Tottenham Hotspur on the 31st of March 2026 to succeed Igor Tudor as head coach on a five-year contract. He managed to guide the club to avoid relegation on the final matchday of the 2025–26 season following a 1–0 win over Everton. Photocredit: Getty Images
If there is one club where four matches have created an unusually loud alarm bell, it is Tottenham. De Zerbi’s side have not scored a single Premier League goal this season.
Four matches have produced two draws, two defeats and only two points, leaving Spurs 17th in the table.
The drought has now stretched beyond 400 minutes. after Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Everton, De Zerbi admitted his team were suffering from a psychological “mental block”, while also pointing to fitness problems, injuries and the late return of several players after the World Cup.
Those explanations are understandable but Tottenham has also invested heavily in the squad, making the lack of attacking production increasingly difficult to ignore.
The most worrying aspect is therefore not simply that Spurs have failed to win, they have failed to score and that creates a very different kind of pressure. it now places the manager as one of the strongest candidates to be sacked if the goal drought continues.
1. Frank Lampard — Coventry City
On 17 April 2026, under Frank Lampard Coventry City secured promotion to the Premier League after 25 years, finishing top of the Championship following a 1–1 away draw with Blackburn Rovers. Photocredit: Getty Images
If this were judged purely on the first four matchdays, there would be little argument about who sits at No.1.
Frank Lampard is bottom of the Premier League with zero points and zero goals.
Coventry have lost all four matches since returning to the top flight, conceding 10 goals without scoring once. Their latest defeat was the most damaging yet: a 5-0 home loss to Brighton, losing the new signing Awoniyi who was sent off.
The defeats to Arsenal and Manchester City could be explained by the quality of the opposition but the 1-0 defeat to Hull was harder to digest.
The Brighton result was worse because it left Coventry with a 10-goal difference after four games, and Lampard has now overseen a start that represents a historic low for the club, with Coventry becoming the first team in 107 years to lose their opening four league matches without scoring.
Yet there is another side to the story. Lampard is not an outsider who has suddenly failed to understand the club. He is the manager who took Coventry from the Championship to the Premier League, winning promotion and earning a new contract that runs until 2029.
That achievement should buy him patience, but Premier League football is unforgiving, and the problem is no longer simply that Coventry are losing, they cannot score just like Tottenham.
Lampard needs his team to find a response quickly because another heavy defeat could turn an understandably difficult adaptation period into a genuine managerial crisis.
For now, he remains in charge. but after four matches, no manager in the Premier League has a worse statistical case than Frank Lampard and why he’s number one on the sack watch.
READMORE: AFCON 2027 begins here: Everything to expect from Africa’s September international break
The early Premier League sack race is already taking shape, but the numbers need context.
Lampard’s Coventry are bottom without a point or goal. Tottenham are still searching for their first league goal. Fulham and Aston Villa have just one point each, while Manchester United’s four points return has suddenly put Carrick under scrutiny.
Yet there is a significant difference between being under pressure and being about to be sacked, that distinction matters.
Lampard has the promotion campaign behind him. Emery has years of success at Villa. Carrick delivered Champions League football last season. De Zerbi has the excuse of a new squad and a difficult preparation period. Sage, Rose and Arbeloa are all relatively new to their respective jobs.
CLICK HERE TO JOIN ATHLETIC NG WHATSAPP CHANNEL NOW!
So, after only four matchdays, this is not a prediction of who will definitely lose their job. It is a snapshot of where the pressure is greatest right now.
The international break is upon us and after that, club competition will resume and if the follow up games produce more defeats, more empty scoreboards and more frustrated supporters, the Premier League’s managerial merry-go-round may start spinning much sooner than anyone expected.
