Premier League: 5 Managers Who Could Be Sacked Next...

On Sunday, Neil Warnock became the second manager to be sacked in the Premier League this season, after Steve Bruce left Sunderland in late November, with Mark Hughes replacing him at Loftus Road.

Despite a strong start to the season, Warnock's QPR have slipped in form recently, having not won a game since beating Stoke in mid-November, picking up just two points in the process and are now hovering above the relegation places.  

Warnock's sacking may seem unfair, as QPR are in the Premier League for the first time since 1996 because of his work last year. But management in football is harsh nowadays and results are more important than ever so Warnock's sacking isn't too surprising. 

In the Premier League, managers often get sacked at about this time of year, as owners wish to "correct" their teams' mistakes in the previous few months by removing the manager—commonly viewed as the source of a team's failings, before it is too late. 

Chris Hughton, Sam Allardyce, Roy Hodgson and Roberto Di Matteo were all sacked from their teams at about this time of year, with varying degrees of success for the teams who sacked them. 

Here are five managers who could join Warnock and Bruce by next getting the axe. 

5. Alex McLeish, Aston Villa

Alex McLeish's name isn't on here because he has done a poor job at Aston Villa—he has actually done quite well. 

Considering that his appointment as Villa manager in the summer was so unpopular among fans, due to both his lack of Premier League success and his past as manager of rivals Birmingham City, and that Stewart Downing and Ashley Young had just left his side hasn't done too badly. Hence, he is only fifth on this list. 

They have been unfortunate in the last few weeks, having had a hard stretch of games including Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal in consecutive home games, which is the reason why they currently find themselves in 13th place and seven points away from safety. 

They have a more generous stretch of games ahead of them, but a slip in form here could spell trouble for the Scotsman, as the fans would most certainly turn on him like they did during his appointment. 

4. Andre Villas-Boas, Chelsea

Not many people thought that Andre Villas-Boas, after his success at Porto last season, would be in a situation where the sack is a possibility in early January. 

Chelsea have been leaking goals throughout the season, something that hasn't been a problem in past seasons, and Villas-Boas has failed to get Fernando Torres to score goals again. 

Although the blame probably deserves to go to the likes of goalkeeper Petr Cech, the aging defense led by John Terry and, of course, Torres himself, Villas-Boas could be the one who finds himself in trouble soon enough. 

The 34-year-old would find himself higher on this list if Chelsea had failed to qualify for the next stage of the Champions League; if they hadn't beaten Manchester City a month ago or Wolves on January 2nd; or Daniel Sturridge hadn't compensated for Torres' lack of goals. But all of this has helped the manager, and it seems that he will most likely stay in charge until the end of the season at least (I don't fancy his chances after that, though.)

3. Owen Coyle, Bolton Wanderers

After a promising start to his Bolton managerial career, which included saving them from relegation in his first season and getting to the FA Cup semifinal in his second, Owen Coyle, who was a local favorite when he played for Bolton in the mid-'90s, became the most popular manager at the club since Sam Allardyce. 

But at the start of the season, his side were bottom of the table. They only earned nine points from their first sixteen games of the season, and were struggling to find goals after Daniel Sturridge returned to Chelsea and Johan Elmander left for Turkish side Galatasaray.

However, they have recently returned to form having won key games against Blackburn and Everton. And although they are still in the relegation zone and have picked up just four points at home this season, Coyle's support from the fans could keep him in the Bolton hot seat, which can't be said for some of the others on this list.

2. Roberto Martinez, Wigan Athletic

Despite the fact that Dave Whelan is a supporter of Martinez's, and the Spaniard enjoyed success at the club during his playing career, it looks more and more likely that he won't see the season out as Wigan boss. 

Why? Because Wigan lie in 19th place in the league, have only won three games this season, including one at home (back in August). And to further add to the suffering, they went out of the FA Cup on Saturday to League Two side Swindon Town.

In the summer, after Wigan survived on the final day, Tom Cleverley went back to Manchester United after his loan spell, Charles N'Zogbia was sold to Aston Villa. The failure to replace these two players, arguably the best in the team last year, as well as the failure of the best players remaining at the club such as Hugo Rodellega, has led to the slump in form that leaves them in trouble towards the bottom of the table. 

Although Wigan were in trouble with Martinez in charge at the same time last season, they have five points less than they did at the same time in 2011, and have less attacking quality than they did last season.  

With popular former boss Steve Bruce without a club, who steered the club away from danger in 2007-08, Whelan has an option should he decide to sack Martinez, making the Spaniard more likely to leave. 

1. Steve Kean, Blackburn Rovers

Realistically, there is no one else who could come top of this list. 

The fans and local media have made it pretty clear that they want Steve Kean as far away from Ewood Park as possible, and see him and the Indian owners as the reasons for the club's downfall in the past year. Having enjoyed mid-table security under Sam Allardyce, one of the first acts of the new Indian owners was to sack him and replace him with untried assistant manager Kean, who soon became an enemy of fans as the club moved closer and closer to the relegation places, saved only by a win on the final day of the season against Wolves. 

Despite this, and the poor start to the current season, the owners have continued to place faith in him—although Rovers are currently bottom and have won just three games this season. 

Even though Rovers drew at Liverpool and amazingly won at Old Trafford, it is hard to see the faith in Kean sustaining for too long, and he will most likely be sacked soon enough as the fans continue their hatred towards Kean.