Pressure among coaches is nothing new, but there has perhaps never been a period, as there is now, where so many are on the brink of the sack. We look at the predicament each coach finds himself in and who’s most likely to be shown the door. 

1. William Muluya (Kariobangi Sharks)

Popularly known as Kanu, the Kariobangi Sharks coach is a man under immense pressure after seeing his team manage just one victory from their opening 12 matches, leaving them 16th on the 18-team Kenyan Premier League table with just eight points.

For a team that beat English Premier League side Everton at Kasarani Stadium in July, this is an all-time low for the Nick Mwendwa-owned team and has left Muluya on the brink.

While Sharks are well-funded, their rivals who are experiencing financial trouble are doing better than them. Champions Gor Mahia, for instance, are dealing with a player revolt over unpaid salaries but continue to post positive results and are 17 points ahead of Sharks with two games in hand.

2. Bernard Mwalala (Bandari)

Like Muluya, Mwalala is also leading an underachieving well-funded club and is having to deal with questions about his future.

The former Nzoia Sugar coach has not won is seven games, leaving Bandari in 12th position with just nine points a far cry from the last two seasons where they pushed Gor Mahia for the league title and finished second on both occasions.

By his own admission, he is not safe in his job due to the poor performances and he will need to start winning quickly before he finds himself in the cold.

Mwalala has flirted with Tanzanian giants Yanga recently with many saying the speculation has distracted the players but that will not be an excuse if results do not change. 

3. Carlo Ancelotti (Napoli)

It all began after the 1-1 draw with Red Bull Salzburg in the Champions League on November 5. Victory would have booked Napoli’s place in the knockout stages and kept them top.

A furious club owner Aurelio De Laurentiis organised the downbeat squad to go on a training retreat but Ancelotti’s players, stood in the dressing room, refused to go, opting to take their cars and drive home, igniting a civil war inside the club.

Since then, it has been no wins in seven games with De Laurentiis fining the players €2.5million (Sh250 million) for ‘disrespecting’ him while Ancelotti’s job is on the line. 

4. Marco Silva (Everton)

The man Muluya beat in July finds himself favourite to be the next coach to be sacked in the English Premier League (EPL).

Last week’s humiliating 2-0 home defeat by rock bottom Norwich left Everton just four points above the drop zone and Silva in danger of losing his job.

Billionaire owner Farhad Moshiri is said to be reluctant to sack another manager after already getting rid of Roberto Martinez, Ronald Koeman and Sam Allardyce in the last three-and-a-half years but with just 14 points from 13 games, there is no guarantee for the Portuguese tactician especially after spending £200 million (Sh26.4 billion) on new players. 

5. Ralph Hasenhuttl (SOUTHAMPTON)

It may not seem fair to discuss Hasenhuttl and the sack race after his side’s impressive display at Arsenal and the 2-1 hime win over Watford on Saturday, but the table doesn’t lie.

After missing a host of chances and conceding a last-gasp equaliser at the Emirates, Southampton are 18th in the table with just 12 points from 14 games.

Their previous fixture saw their own fans boo them off after a home defeat against Everton, who had not won away in the league since March prior to their 2-1 victory at St Mary’s.

Their shocking recent 9-0 loss to Leicester was a Premier League record home defeat.

6. Lucien Favre (Borussia Dortmund)

The 3-3 draw with bottom club Paderborn left Borussia Dortmund’s Lucien Favre with two games to save his job. Unfortunately for him, the first was a trip to face Barcelona and Lionel Messi which he lost 3-1.

How did it come to this for the Swiss coach? This time last year, Favre was radiating in the glow of a healthy Bundesliga lead, an unbeaten record and a recent win over Bayern Munich.

But a nine-point lead was transformed into a two point deficit as Bayern won a seventh successive title.

This season, however, a leaky defence has left Dortmund five points off the leaders with Farve under immense pressure to turn things around. 

7. Manuel Pellegrini (West Ham)

Pellegrini jumped to the front of the sack race after his West Ham side were well-beaten by London rivals Tottenham, despite a late fightback.

And although he beat Chelsea 1-0 on Saturday, the Hammers boss remains under intense pressure.

After a bright start to the season, Pellegrini’s men have slumped to 13th in the table and had not won since beating Manchester United on September 22, losing five of their last seven league games.

8. Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid)

Real Madrid are joint top in La Liga with a game in hand albeit against fellow table toppers Barcelona. So why is Zizou on this list? Defensive frailties.

Add that to the fact that Real Madrid don’t seem to have a pattern of play and attack that is efficient. The game plan seems to be to fire crosses into the box until it finds the foot or head of Karim Benzema.

Sure, it’s working now, but for how long? Benzema was on the scoresheet again in the Champions League on Tuesday but it was the manner in which they surrendered a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 with PSG that might come to bite Zidane.

The midfield is struggling and the defence keeps conceding, a recipe for disaster unless Zizou sorts it out quickly. 

9. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (Man United)

The thrilling 3-3 draw at Sheffield United was a topsy-turvy affair, both on the pitch and for Solskjaer’s prospects of remaining in the Old Trafford hot seat.

Two-nil down at Bramall Lane, the Norwegian looked like he could be 40 minutes from the exit. Yet, 27 minutes later, his side had battled back in style to lead 3-2.

However, a late equaliser furthered doubts about Solskjaer’s suitability for the role. The Red Devils have fewer points from their opening 13 games than in any season since 1988-89.

10. Vincenzo Montella (FIORENTINA)

One  win in the last five matches and four in 14 matches have left Fiorentina coach Vincenzo Montella in danger of being sacked and Saturday’s 1-0 loss to minnows Lecce has made the situation worse.

The Viola were hoping to compete for place in Europe but poor results have left them 11th on the table.