There is much speculation as to whether Rafa Benitez will stay in charge of Newcastle if they are unable to secure their Premier League safety. Some argue that the Champions League winner would definitely move on if he were to fail to keep his side up. However, others have argued that the Spaniard would stay at the club long-term even if the Magpies were unable to beat the drop. But how have Premier League managers fared when staying on after relegation?
2015-16
Surprisingly, all three managers of the relegated sides kept their jobs over the summer and prepared their sides for life in the Championship. However, the three managers: Steve Bruce of Hull City, Sean Dyche of Burnley and Chris Ramsey of QPR all had differing success.
For Dyche and Bruce the season so far has been massively successful with both sides in good positions to secure an immediate return to the Premier League. Dyche’s Burnley currently sit four points clear of closest rivals Brighton & Hove Albion at the Championship summit. The decision to keep the 44-year-old has certainly paid off for the Clarets.
For Steve Bruce, life back in the Championship has been less successful but Hull have still had a very good season. The Tigers find themselves fourth in the Championship; and automatic promotion is certainly achievable as they sit five points off second-placed Brighton. Bruce’s side at times were in the driving seat this season but just one win in nine has seen them forced to play catch-up. The Tigers have failed to win this month and too many draws in recent weeks has seen them slip up.
Chris Ramsey had a much more difficult return to the second tier and was sacked 15 games into the season. The Englishman was thrown into a difficult job in February 2015 when he took over as caretaker at the QPR following Harry Redknapp’s resignation. Rangers sat second bottom of the Premier League, marginally above current Premier League leaders Leicester.
Under Ramsey’s leadership the club recorded just three Premier League wins for the rest of the season and were relegated after a humbling 6-0 defeat to Manchester City at the Etihad. Despite this, Ramsey was given the job permanently but his leadership in the Championship was ill-fated. After an inconsistent start he was sacked with his side sitting disappointingly in the bottom half. Despite this difficult time at the helm, he rejoined QPR as a technical director shortly after.
2014-15
Two seasons ago, both managers who stayed in charge despite relegations experienced difficult times in the second tier. Former Manchester United striker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer left his post just six weeks into the new season and having spent just nine months at Cardiff City in total.
The Norwegian left after just two wins in the opening seven fixtures as his side slumped to 17th in the league. A difficult position under the eccentric and unpredictable ownership of Malaysian Vincent Tan was over in less than a year and his attempt at bringing the Bluebirds back to the Premier League was stopped before it had begun.
Along with Cardiff, Norwich City were relegated in 2013-14 and decided to keep Neil Adams in charge. Adams was given the unenviable task of caretaker as the Canaries looked certain to go down and the former Norwich midfielder, unsurprisingly, could do nothing about it.
The former youth coach took the full position as manager at the beginning of the 2014-15 season but left his position just after the New Year. The Canaries lay in seventh in the Championship and hopes of an automatic return to the Premier League were fadin. Adams moved to a role as Loans Manager at the club.
2013-14
For the second time in this article Queens Park Rangers appear and this time under the management of Harry Redknapp. The 69-year-old took over at Loftus Road in 2012 as it looked as though Rangers were certain for relegation. Despite his best efforts he could not keep the West London club in the division.
However, Redknapp oversaw QPR’s immediate return to the Premier League in the most dramatic manner. Bobby Zamora scored a stoppage time winner in the play-off final to secure a swift and successful return to the Premier League.
Redknapp’s success was almost shared by Nigel Adkins in his time as Reading manager. The appointment of Adkins towards the end of the 2012-13 season after his dismissal from Southampton was a confusing one for many but he almost took Reading back to the Premier League at the first time of asking. The Royals finished just one point behind Brighton who snatched the final play-off place in dramatic fashion with Leonardo Ulloa’s late winner against Nottingham Forest. Adkins was relieved of his duties the following season after a poor start to the season and he now manages League One Sheffield United.
2012-13
Steve Kean’s time at Blackburn is often seen as one of the darkest in Blackburn’s recent history. The inexperienced manager was unable to stop the former Premier League winners from falling out of the top tier of English football and his time in the Championship was very short lived. After a poor start to the season he resigned despite a positive start and became the first of six managers to take control of Rovers that season.
Like his compatriot, Owen Coyle also struggled with Bolton Wanderers after relegation as the Scotsman left the club after less than three months in the Championship. The 49-year-old had kept Bolton in the Premier League two years prior in 2010 and led them to 14th the following season. However, his third season saw a disappointing relegation and Coyle’s time was ended after this poor return to the Championship.
