Despite these damaging facts boss Roberto Martinez appears to be safe. The Spaniard’s odds are still relatively long for a man in his position – 12/1 to be the Next Premier League Manager To Be Sacked – and he is fortunate that he has a very loyal chairman in Dave Whelan who has consistently backed his under-fire manager. Martinez’s decision to stay at Wigan in the summer, despite a very tempting offer from Aston Villa, will always be remembered by both the supporters and Whelan.

On Monday night Wigan fell to their twelfth defeat of the season as they were narrowly beaten by the league leaders Man City. It was a brave and battling performance by Wigan but, as has been the case this season, one that ultimately ended in defeat. This is the Latics seventh straight season in England’s top flight but they are now in real danger of dropping into the Championship at the end of the season, with the bookmakers’ installing them as the favourites to get relegated. Despite the pressure and poor results Martinez has stuck with his free-flowing style of football. However, as we enter into the business end of the season he must now figure out a way of grinding out results.

Their next match is away to QPR, a game that pits together the two out of form sides in the league. QPR have slipped into the relegation zone following a woeful run of nine games without a win, with seven of those matches ending in defeat. Wigan comfortably beat QPR back in August but they will face a much stiffer challenge this time, with the hosts eager to impress new boss Mark Hughes. Stan James have installed QPR as the 10/11 favourites for the win, while Wigan can be backed at 16/5, with a draw priced at 12/5.

Odds courtesy of Stan James.

Neither club could be in worse form as they prepare for the pivotal encounter. Wigan picked up five points from their opening three matches but have since been on a woeful run of eight straight defeats. With just a solitary win this season the Latics are rock-bottom of the Premier League with a mere five points from 11 matches. Similarly, Blackburn only have a single league win to their name since the season kicked off back in August, and they are without a victory in six league games. Rovers’ away form makes for equally dire reading with only one victory from their last 14 league matches on the road.

Rovers boss Steve Kean has suffered a severe fans backlash in recent weeks, with some disgruntled supporters going as far as flying a plane over Ewood Park with the sign attached: “Steve Kean Out”. As has been the case for near enough the whole season Kean is the bookmakers’ favourite in the Next Premier League Manager To Be Sacked betting market, with odds of 5/4 to get the chop with Paddy Power. A defeat on Saturday would surely spell the end of a torrid 11 months in charge of the Lancashire club.

Eight straight defeats has seen Roberto Martinez's odds cut to 4/1

Wigan manager Roberto Martinez has seen his odds dwindle in the last month or so and he is now the second favourite manager to depart with odds of 4/1. However, the Italian finds himself in a unique position. Any other manager who had overseen eight straight defeats would almost certainly be sacked but not every manager has Dave Whelan as their chairman. Whelan is currently showing tremendous loyalty towards his manager – as Martinez did during the summer when he turned down Aston Villa and signed a new contract – but if Wigan keep on losing then surely there will come a time when enough is enough. If Wigan were to lose Martinez’s 100^th match in charge on Saturday then who knows what might happen.

The corresponding fixture last season was a seven-goal thriller with Wigan coming out on top 4-3. Since 2005 Blackburn have the better head-to-head record with seven wins out of 12 matches, with Wigan posting three wins, and two games ending all square. However, the Latics have won three out of their last four home matches against Rovers, scoring a whopping 13 goals in the process.

Paddy Power have installed Wigan as the 6/4 favourites to break their barren run and win their first match since the tail end of August. While Blackburn can be backed at 15/8 to win their first league game since beating an out of form Arsenal over two months ago. With both sides unaccustomed to winning this season a draw may be the way to go at 9/4.

All odds provided by Paddy Power.

Wigan have just a single win to their name this season, which came all the way back in August. They got off to a bright start, picking up five points from their first three games but a dismal run of seven straight league defeats has piled the pressure on Martinez and his squad. The 38-year-old was close to becoming the new manager of Aston Villa in the summer but instead, in a tremendous show of loyalty, agreed to extend his contract with The Latics. However, he may now be regretting that decision following Wigan’s dreadful run of form, with the club now installed as the 4/9 favourites with Paddy Power to go down at the end of the season. Wigan have managed to stay in the Premier League since they first came up in 2005 but if their form does not improve soon then their six-year stay could be coming to an end.

At the moment Martinez has the support of his chairman, Dave Whelan, who publicly backed his under-fire manager after Saturday’s defeat to Fulham, saying “His [Roberto’s] position is never, ever in question”. Wigan will attempt to end their horrendous losing streak away to Wolves on Sunday. Mick McCarthy is another manager who has found himself under pressure in recent weeks, with his side losing six of their last seven league games. Paddy Power have priced Wolves as the 10/11 favourites to come away with a valuable three points, with Wigan priced at 11/4. However, a draw looks like a likely result at 11/5.

All odds courtesy of Paddy Power.

Top of the list in the Next Premier League Manager To Be Sacked Betting is Blackburn Rovers boss Steve Kean. The Scot has been under-pressure since the first day of the season and, with Rovers picking up just a single win from their opening eight league games, you can see why. October is priced at 3/1 in the When Will The Next Premier League Manager Leave His Post betting market and if Kean’s side lose at home to Tottenham on Sunday then he could well be out. In expectation a Next Blackburn Rover Manager betting market has opened up with former Rovers boss Mark Hughes the early 11/8 favourite.

With odds of just 7/4 Sunderland manager Steve Bruce is the second favourite to be given the chop. His side may have put on a much improved display away to Arsenal in their last outing, but they still came away empty handed. A defeat to fellow strugglers Bolton on Saturday could be the final nail in the coffin for Bruce, with former Aston Villa boss Martin O’Neill currently leading the way in the Next Sunderland Manager Betting.

Bolton’s win at Wigan last weekend may have brought some respite for manager Owen Coyle but it doesn’t hide the fact that they had previously lost six league matches in a row, conceding a record number of goals in the process. However, Bolton have without a doubt had the toughest start to the season having already played both Manchester clubs, Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and Aston Villa, but with those games out the way their supporters will be looking for some vastly improved performances over the next couple of weeks.

During the last week Mick McCarthe has had his odds slashed from 40/1 to just 5/1 in the betting following Wolves’ woeful run of five defeats on the trot. Similarly Wigan have lost all of their last five games putting boss Roberto Martinez under pressure too. It is unlikely that either club will dispose of their manager yet but if their poor form continues then November could just be the month.

When Will The Next Premier League Manager Leave His Post?

• 3/1 – October 2011
• 9/4 – November 2011
• 2/1 – December 2011
• 11/4 – January 2012 Or Later

Odds supplied by Stan James – To place your bet click ‘Football’ on the Stan James homepage, then click the drop down menu bar at the top of the page and scroll down until you find ‘Manager Specials’.

The past three winners of the award have been Sir Alex Ferguson in 2011, former Fulham boss Roy Hodgson (2010) and Everton’s David Moyes in 2009. Fergie gained plaudits last year for winning a remarkable 12^th league title with United, and for reaching the Champions League Final for the third time in four seasons. He side also had decent runs in both The FA Cup and Carling Cup. The legendary Scot is the 2/1 favourite to retain the LMA award and win it for an unprecedented fourth time. However, you feel that in order to do this, he will not only have to win yet another Premier League trophy but go one better than last year and win the Champions League, both of which are harder said than done, even for a club like United and a manager of Ferguson’s expertise.

At 7/2 the new Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas is also in the running, as is Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini at 5/1. Although he is desperate to distance himself from comparisons to Jose Mourinho, Villas-Boas would love to repeat The Special One’s achievements at Chelsea, and what a statement it would be if he was to guide Chelsea to their fourth Premier League crown in eight years. However, we all know it is the Champions League that Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich craves, although a trophy of any means will be a confidence booster for Villas-Boas and will be well recieved by the Chelsea faithful. Following their impressive third place league finish and FA Cup win last season, Man City are finally looking like a force to contend with, and they will certainly be major contenders in all competitions in the 2011/12 season. If Mancini can guide his troops to Premier League glory then the award would most certainly be his.

Outside of the major contenders for the award, available at a temping 14/1 each are the Premier League new boys Neil Warnock, Brendan Rodgers and Paul Lambert. In the past, Reading and Wigan Athletic have enjoyed fantastic first season’s in England’s top flight following their respective promotions from the Championship, and the three new promoted club’s will be looking to follow in their lead. They will also take inspiration from the fantastic starts from Hull and Blackpool in recent years. If Warnock, Rodgers or Lambert can masterclass a top ten finish and perhaps string together a decent run in one of the domestic cup competitions, then they can count themselves as real contenders for the award.

Elsewhere, under pressure Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is priced at 8/1 and Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish is available at 10/1.

2012 LMA Manager of the Year Outright Betting – correct as of 14/07/2011

• 2/1 – Sir Alex Ferguson
• 7/2 – Andre Villas Boas
• 5/1 – Roberto Mancini
• 8/1 – Arsene Wenger
• 10/1 – Harry Redknapp
• 12/1 – Kenny Dalglish
• 12/1 – David Moyes
• 14/1 – Martin Jol
• 14/1 – Paul Lambert
• 14/1 – Neil Warnock
• 14/1 – Brendan Rodgers
• 14/1 – Roy Hodgson
• 14/1 – Tony Pulis
• 16/1 – Owen Coyle
• 20/1 – Mick McCarthy
• 20/1 – Steve Bruce
• 20/1 – Alex McLeish
• 20/1 – Roberto Martinez
• 25/1 – Steve Kean
• 25/1 – Alan Pardew
• 25/1 – Gus Poyet
• 33/1 – Sam Allardyce

All odds courtesy of Victor Chandler

It is unknown whether Villa chairman Randy Lerner has the patience to wait untill the start of July to talk to Hughes, as the Welshman had a strict term in his contract at Fulham which restricts other clubs from talking to him till then. Villa are eager to appoint a manager as soon as possible so David Moyes and Owen Coyle may be more realistic options. In a further blow to the club it looks as if their star player Ashley Young will definitely move to Manchester United in the next few days.

In contrast Wigan will be ecstatic at Martinez’s decision to stay, with the man himself admitting that he wanted to repay the loyalty shown to him by Whelan. Martinez is now looking forward to his future at the DW Stadium and will continue in his aim to take the club forward and improve on last season’s 16th place finish.

Sky Bet have Hughes as the 5/4 favourite, while Everton’s David Moyes, who as long been linked to the club, had odds of 3/1, while Bolton Boss Owen Coyle is available at 5/1.

All odds courtesy of Sky Bet

Martinez today emerged as the frontrunner after Villa decided to turn their backs on the likes of Steve McClaren, Mark Hughes and Rafa Benitez. The former Swansea boss has gained numerous plaudits this season for managing Wigan on a tight budget and for keeping them in the Premier League, after the club strung together an impressive end of season run in. He has also refused to alter his attractive style of football, despite the club’s inconsistent form. Dave Whelan may have given Martinez permission to speak to Villa but he has also made it abundantly clear that he will be offering Martinez a contract extension in order to tempt him to stay at the club. However, Wigan are resolved to losing a number of their star players, including Charles N’Zogbia who played a key role in the club’s survival this season.

Since Houllier’s departure Villa have been linked with a catalogue of managers as they aim to install a new manager before their pre-season training starts on July 7th. Owen Coyle has also been recently put in the frame for the Villa job and as a result has had his odds cut to 5/1. Since he joined Bolton from Burnley in January 2010 Coyle has managed to transform the club’s style of play by employing a more attractive, high-tempo level of football.

All odds courtesy of Victor Chandler

Boothroyd joins a long list of sacked managers this season

As we are just entering into the final quarter of the season with most teams having at least 10 games left to play the chances of more managers joining those that have already gone is still quite high. Last season the career expectancy of managers in the Football League was just 1.4 years and in all of the divisions there are just 3 managers with over 10 years with the same club (Ferguson, Wenger and Coleman from Accrington Stanley) and with the majority (at our count 48) of managers being with their current club for less than one year. In no other profession could you imagine that over half of the employees would have less than a year with the same company.

With the installation of a new manager sometimes wins do come in as they did for Boothroyd, but Coventry are now back in the same position they were under Chris Coleman and before that Iain Dowie. Whoever the next Coventry City manager is will sure to be stuck in the same boat this time next season (should they of course avoid relegation).

However we do not think the rate of sackings will change and with this in mind looking at the odds for next Premier League manager to be sacked betting the positions of Steve Kean and Roberto Martinez look most at risk, of the two sides Wigan have the worst of the upcoming fixtures as they are set to face Spurs and Chelsea but have a valuable six pointer against Birmingham City first whereas Blackburn have 2 potential relegation games as they face Blackpool and Birmingham as well as Arsenal.

The bookies Paddy Power are placing odds of 2/1 for Blackburn’s Steve Kean to be the next manager to go with Wigan’s Roberto Martinez being at odds of 9/4.

We will now take a look at the top three managers in reverse order who are most in danger of being the next Premier League manager to be sacked.

In third place the first person to look at is Roberto Martinez the current boss of Wigan Athletic who has seen his side kick off the season to a fairly rocky start manage to stabilise his team and have out of 27 games now only lost 10 games but are short on points after drawing 12 games which has saw his side based in the relegation zone on 27 points equal to West Brom but are let down by their goal difference.

Martinez is currently on odds of 7/1 to be out of a job at Wigan, his odds rising due to the teams 3 game unbeaten run in the Premier League. However his next game is at home to Manchester United which is sure to a tough match for the manager.

Second in our managerial hit list is Wolverhampton Wanderers boss Mick McCarthy whose side are now sitting at the bottom of the Premier League with 24 points after having only winning seven games so far this season, drawing on just 3 occasions and have now lost an impressive 16 games. His odds are at quite long odds of 9/1 for a manager in such a precarious position.

His next game will be a vital six pointer game against West Brom at the Hawthorns. After this game do not be surprised to see McCarthy odds cut and his name to be at the top of the sackrace list.

There is no real surprise as to who is our current favourite manager to be sacked. However Avram Grant does seem to have more lives available than a cat and has become a better escape artist than Harry Houdini. Just before Christmas it did look as if the manager was earmarked to be replaced by Martin O’Neill by the board at West Ham but for various reason the deal fell through and Grant was given a reprieve.

After a very negative start to the season which saw the side glued to the bottom of the table in his last 10 games the side has managed to lose only 3 games and the side have now moved up a space to the dizzy heights of 19th. However this has not stopped his odds placing him the current favourite to be sacked at odds of 8/13.

West Ham’s next League match will be a home tie against Liverpool, a vital 3 points here could see Grant’s side catapulted out of the relegation zone.

All odds for the manager sacking market come from bookmakers Victor Chandler, click on the odds to bet.

All three teams at the bottom of the table need a win to appease their fans

There is a full weekend of football ahead of us in the Barclays Premier League and several of the managers will be hoping that luck is on their side for once and that they can kick start their season beginning with claiming all 3 of the available points.

The managers that most fear the final whistle this weekend are once again West Ham’s Avram Grant; he is this week playing fellow strugglers and relegation contenders Wigan who are managed by Roberto Martinez. Both teams will be seeing this match as an early 6 pointer, with no teams wanting to claim just the draw, as this will fail to move them significantly up the table.

Of the two managers Grant is easily the most at risk, with odds of just 4/7 with bookmakers Victor Chandler to be the next Premier League manager to be sacked. Martinez is more or less in the same position as Grant and is at odds of 9/2 to face the chop, his side having only won once out of their last 5 matches.

Another manager who has had a poor start to this season is Wolves boss Mick McCarthy; whose side have lost their last 4 games in the league and have only managed to win 2 games so far this season, however McCarthy is at safer odds of 8/1 to get the push. The last time that Wolves managed to claim 3 points was back in October, when they surprisingly beat Manchester City, which is a side with another manager under pressure. The fans and board are feeling that Roberto Mancini is underperforming but he is at least at the right end of the table in fourth place, but his odds of getting the sack are at just 9/2.