6 Premier League Managers Who Will Be Under Pressure From the Start of the Season
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As the Premier League season draws near, teams have begun preparations for their opening fixtures which take place on the weekend commencing August 10.
With Frank De Boer finding himself getting sacked after a record four games at the start of last season, some managers may want to look over their shoulder if their sides don’t have the start the club intended.
Here are six Premier League managers which could face pressure early on this campaign if they make poor starts:
6. Nuno Espirito Santo
The Portuguese boss is new to the Premier League after managing Wolves to promotion from the Championship last season. With the fans and players taking to the energetic boss after having such a successful time under him, many are believing Wolves can achieve great things.
A top half finish has been predicted by many and with the money that Wolves have spent on high profile names, Nuno could find himself under pressure if his side find themselves in the relegation zone after their opening fixtures.
With five of their first six fixtures coming against last season’s top half teams, including champions Manchester City, Wolves may find themselves panicking. With the aspirations of the clubs owners being very high, they may feel the former Porto man may not be the man to take them forward.
5. Manuel Pellegrini
With the West Ham job proving difficult to keep in recent years, the former Premier League champion will want to make a fast start.
With the hostile London Stadium crowd proving to get frustrated early on in the season if results are not going their way, the Chilean coach will need to get a few wins under his belt. Then he will not have to be constantly waiting for a call from club chairman David Gold, as former boss Slaven Bilic did last season, when the Croatian was finally sacked by the Hammers.
The Hammers will be expected to earn a top half finish after making a number of high profile signings including Felipe Anderson, Issa Diop and Andriy Yarmolenko as well as Premier League stalwarts Jack Wilshere and Lukasz Fabiański.
4. Claude Puel
After joining in October last year, Puel helped Leicester to a 9th placed finish in the Premier League after they were struggling under former boss Craig Shakespeare.
That didn’t stop the Frenchman receiving criticism from the fans towards the end of the season, with boos ringing around on match days, especially after the side’s 5-0 thrashing by Crystal Palace in April.
Puel will definitely want to hold on to World Cup heroes Harry Maguire and Jamie Vardy after they have been linked with moves away from the King Power Stadium. With a tough start away at Old Trafford, Puel will want to hit the ground running with his new signings, so that he is given some breathing space by the owners who have proven ruthless with sackings in recent seasons.
3. Marco Silva
Marco Silva has had an impressive, yet tough run in the Premier League thus far. With a almost impossible job at Hull City trying to avoid relegation, when relegation seemed a certainty, however he endured a tumultuous time at Watford last year, after he was sacked after a run of just one win in 12.
This season he has a fresh start at Everton. The Goodison Park faithful will not want a repeat of last season, which saw the club fall into mid-table obscurity.
Silva will need to bring a new exciting style of football to the Toffees in order to win the fans over and with a 22-0 win in their first friendly, he hasn’t started that role off too badly.
2. Jose Mourinho
With the Manchester United boss boasting three trophies in his first season at the club, the last year has been rather bleak.
Finishing a far runner up to Manchester City in the Premier League last season and not having any luck in the domestic or European competitions, the Portuguese manager may be under pressure from the beginning of the season with many fans unhappy with the playing style the 55-year-old uses.
With star midfielder Paul Pogba flourishing in the World Cup this summer, even more pressure will be weighed on Mourinho’s shoulders as he looks to get the best out of the club record signing.
With many United fans being impatient when it comes to winning matches, Mourinho may want to make a couple more high profile signings so that it can deflect from any worrying performances at the start of the season.
1. Unai Emery
As the Gunners prepare for a season under a new boss for the first time in 22 years, the atmosphere at the Emirates will be tense as they will not know what to expect under a new look Arsenal side that face the champions Manchester City on the opening day of the season.
Arsenal fans have been quick to place blame on Wenger for their lack of challenging for the Premier League over recent seasons. So Emery will be under immense pressure from the start as a few poor results starting with a loss at the Emirates may raise a few eyebrows.
With a number of impressive signings to his name Emery will be looking to have a stronger defence as well as continuing their free flowing attractive football the Gunners are renowned for doing.
The former PSG coach will be under pressure to achieve silverware in his first season, so the question will be how much pressure can the Spanish manager cope with.