The pressure mounted on several managers in the Championship following the weekend’s results and with the crucial Christmas period fast approaching, The Sack Race is predicting that the next managerial casualty in this division is just a matter of days away.

Defeats for Plymouth, Sheffield Wednesday, Coventry and Preston extended the run of poor form that each of these teams find themselves in, adding pressure to the respective managers in the process!

It would appear that Sheffield Wednesday manager, Brian Laws, is the gaffer in most need of a win and the one currently heading the next championship manager to be sacked betting. The Owls are without a win in seven matches, of which five have been defeats, a sequence that sees the South Yorkshire club poised just one point and one place above the Championship relegation zone. Add to this the fact that third bottom Ipswich now appear to be moving in the right direction under Roy Keane, Laws must move fast to turn around fortunes at Hillsborough or he will face the axe just one month after celebrating his third .

The man that Laws replaced at Sheffield Wednesday, Paul Sturrock, now boss at Plymouth Argyle, is another Championship boss under fire but unlike Wednesday, The Pilgrims have been managing to win, just without the consistency needed to climb the table. Certain sections of the Home Park crowd have been calling for Sturrock’s head but he is likely to get  a little more time from the Plymouth board to put a run of results together and should be around to add to the squad when the transfer window opens in January.

Someone who may not have the luxury of time is Coventry City manager Chris Coleman who has failed to guide the Sky Blues to a league win since September and whispers coming out of the Ricoh Arena suggest it’s now a matter of when rather than if for the former Fulham and Real Sociedad boss.

Another name which may come as surprise inclusion in the Championship Sack Race is Preston North End manager, Alan Irvine. The former Everton assistant took over at Deepdale just over two years ago and worked miracles to guide The Lillywhites  to the Championship play-offs in his first full season in charge last term after steering them clear of relegation 12 months earlier.  However, a return of just one win in ten games has seen sections of the Deepdale faithful begin to vent their frustration at the current state of affairs but a couple of wins should see Preston back on track and Irvine back in the comfort zone, however, if things don’t improve, expect to see the pressure mount on David Moyes’ right hand man.

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