Despite being just three game weeks into the new season, it is clear to see that not all bosses have settled into the 2025/26 Premier League campaign well. Some managers are already facing extreme scrutiny as relationships have deteriorated, performances have not improved since last season, or expectations are too high for the current team’s performance.
Ruben Amorim
Manchester United finished 15th last season. Their worst league finish since their relegation in 1974. Amorin knew that going trophyless for the season, losing the Europa League final, and their league position were not good enough. Not good enough that he promised the fans that “the better days will come.” With only three games into the season, United have already crashed out of the Carabao Cup to League Two side Grimsby Town and have picked up just one win this season. Have the better days come? Well, certainly not yet, and due to Amorin’s disaster season last year, the United board will not wait around for results to pick up. It is now or never for the boss.
Graham Potter
West Ham gave Potter the keys to a squad that needed direction after Moyes’ departure, but early signs suggest that he has not found the answers. Despite beating Nottingham Forest 3-0 away from home in their most recent fixture, their first two results of the new campaign were not good enough. Conceding a total of eight goals in two games, Potter immediately became the bookies’ joint favourite manager to be sacked first this season. Potter was brought in to take West Ham forward, but as of right now, avoiding a relegation battle seems like more of an immediate task. West Ham are former European Champions, and sitting near the bottom of the table will continue to run the fans’ patience thin.
Nuno Espirito Santo
At Nottingham Forest, Nuno’s relationship with the club’s owner, Evangelos Marinakis, is the reason that he sits as the favourite to be sacked first this season. Despite finishing 7th and securing Forest with European football for the first time since 1996, Nuno has stated that his relationship with Marinakis is “not the same,” whilst also admitting that “When there’s smoke, there’s fire.” Whilst his job hangs in the balance, each poor result only adds further tension, and with only one win in three games, who knows if or when Marinakis will draw Nuno’s reign at Forest to a close.
Vitor Pereira
Early trouble sets in for Wolves as they sit at the bottom of the table with zero points, just two goals scored, and eight conceded. After a poor start to the season last year, Pereira was appointed, and soon after, he promised that Wolves would not be relegated that season. Despite delivering his promises, Wolves lost the likes of Matheus Cunha, Rayan Ait-Nouri, Fabio Silva, and Goncalo Guedes this summer, and now look to be in a similar position to where they were at the start of last season. This time, their squad is weaker, and if results do not change soon, then Pereira could face severe scrutiny.
Daniel Farke
Despite a stunning season in the Championship last year and breaking Leeds’ record points in one season with 100, scepticism will always remain about Farke’s managerial abilities in the Premier League. It’s been a decent start to the season for Leeds, who currently sit in 12th, having just lost one game. However, pressure remains on Farke, as with just a 12% win rate in the Premier League from 49 games, fans are not convinced that he will keep Leeds up. So much so that after Leeds won the Championship last season, one Leeds fan immediately shared his feelings on talkSPORT, demanding that the club must “Get rid of him” before the new season. Is the Premier League too much for Farke, or will this be the year that he proves the critics wrong?