When the going gets tough, the tough get going, or in footballs case the manager gets the sack. Is that the best way to improve results? Surely having some stability at the helm will enable everyone to relax and enjoy what they do and for footballers this generally means they play better. Look at the plight of the bottom 5 sides in the Premiership QPR, Wigan, Blackburn, Bolton and Wolves. Only 2 of these have changed their manager this season, of those that bit the bullet one has already been relegated, with the other surprising everyone. Wolves decided the services of Mick McCarthy, were no longer required and lined up a replacement. The unnamed replacement decided he didn't want the job after all, so the Wolves owners had to go to assistant coach Terry Connor. This i am sure they regret as Wolves were relegated at the weekend. QPR surprised everyone when, in January, they sacked Neil Warnock and quickly appointed Mark Hughes. This has had a positive response from the fans and players with QPR now a few points above the relegation zone. So mixed results prove that it doesn't always work. Ask any Wolves fan and they will tell you if McCarthy had been in charge until the end of the season they would have stayed up. Although they weren't saying that after the 5 nil home defeat to WBA. We will never know that to be true but, he did have more presence than his successor. But what of the other teams in the relegation dog fight? Blackburn fans wish Steve Kean had been sacked long before Christmas and as the team were bottom of the table at Christmas, it did seem inevitable. The board decided to avoid the culling of the top man and it would seem, are quite happy to get relegated, with Kean in a strong position to bring Blackburn back up next year. Bolton and Owen Coyle, had the tragic circumstances of losing Fabrice Muamba for the remainder of the season, at least. This sympathy will help Bolton legend, Coyle retain the job into next season. How long he and Kean last depends upon the start they get next season. Sunderland, did also make a dramatic sacking early in the season, when the board lost patience with Steve Bruce. They replaced him with Martin O'Neil and have had such a run of results that they still have an outside chance of a place in Europe. If they hadn't made the change then would they also be in relegation battle? Footballs a funny old game.
