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17 Premier League caretaker managers who were appointed permanently

Tottenham, Chelsea and Liverpool are among the clubs to have appointed caretaker managers permanently – but how have they fared?

We’ve looked back at 1the 7 caretaker managers who have been handed the main role at their clubs since the turn of the millennium, to see how their Premier League record fared following their appointment.

Note: We have not considered bosses who were permanently appointed following relegation.

Glenn Roeder – West Ham
Took charge of final game of 2000-01 season following Harry Redknapp’s departure. West Ham finished that season in 15th but Roeder led them to seventh in his first full season in charge permanently. The Hammers were relegated following year, albeit with Roeder having missed the end of season due to illness, before he was sacked after only three games of Championship season.

Points per game: 1.16

Stuart Gray – Southampton
Taking over from Glenn Hoddle, Gray only won two of the final nine matches of the season before being given the job permanently at the end of the 2000-01 season. Six defeats in the opening eight matches of the following campaign saw him sacked by October.

Points per game: 1

Chris Coleman – Fulham
The current Wales boss guided Fulham to safety following the sacking of Jean Tigana, becoming the Premier League’s youngest manager at the age of just 32. Fulham finished ninth in Coleman’s first full season but after a number of key players were sold he was sacked a week short of his fourth anniversary with the club just four points above the relegation zone.

Points per game: 1.24

Stuart Pearce – Man City
It’s often forgotten that Pearce was just a Robbie Fowler missed penalty away from leading City into Europe after replacing Kevin Keegan, but 15th and 14th place finishes saw ‘Psycho’ sacked two years later. He also played David James as a striker.

Points per game: 1.19

READ: Investigating the success of previous PL sackings & whether there’s a ‘best’ time

Glenn Roeder – Newcastle
Newcastle were six points above the relegation zone when Roeder stepped in for Graeme Souness but finished the season in seventh. An injury crisis led to the Magpies finishing 13th the following year, leading to Roeder’s resignation.

Points per game: 1.42

Ricky Sbragia – Sunderland
Sbragia beat 30 candidates to the role after a four-game audition in which he led the Black Cats out of the relegation zone, but only three more wins followed as they beat the drop despite defeat on the final day. Sbragia resigned imploring the club to hire a “bigger name”.

Points per game: 0.91

Lawrie Sanchez – Fulham
Coleman’s exit saw Sanchez temporarily combine the Northern Ireland job with a role at Fulham. He probably regrets giving up the international gig for the permanent Fulham job as he lasted only a further six months, despite signing David Healy.

Points per game: 0.77

Joe Kinnear – Newcastle
Even an introductory press conference in which he called a journalist a “c*nt” and spoke at a rate of one swear word every six seconds didn’t stop Newcastle turning Kinnear’s interim role into a permanent contract. By February 2009 Kinnear had to step aside after he required a heart bypass and Newcastle were relegated under Alan Shearer.

Points per game: 1.09

Tony Adams – Portsmouth
Adams had one game in temporary charge of Portsmouth after Harry Redknapp left for Tottenham before being handed a two-and-a-half year contract. He lasted less than four months.

Points per game: 0.67

Paul Hart – Portsmouth
Replacing Adams in charge at Fratton Park, initially on a match-by-match basis, came Hart, guiding the club to 14th. But he eventually paid the price the following the season for the worst start to a Premier League campaign in history as Pompey lost their opening seven matches.

Points per game 0.81

Steve Kean – Blackburn
The least popular manager in Premier League history? Kean eventually took Blackburn down and eventually resigned the following season.

Points per game: 0.9

READ: Steve Kean interview: Blackburn, life abroad and the rise of Asian football

Kenny Dalglish – Liverpool
If Kean was unpopular at Blackburn, Roy Hodgson provoked similar dismay at Liverpool. King Kenny saved the day and led the Reds to their most recent honour, the 2012 League Cup, the following season, albeit an eighth-place finish meant he left at the end of the campaign.

Points per game: 1.52

Roberto Di Matteo – Chelsea
The most successful caretaker manager ever? Di Matteo’s future was still up in the air when he guided Chelsea to glory in the Champions League and FA Cup finals. The only way was down after that and the Italian only lasted until November after being handed the reins permanently.

Points per game: 1.83

Tim Sherwood – Tottenham
Tottenham were seventh in the league when Andre Villas Boas was sacked in 2013. Under Sherwood they finished sixth. And then he was sacked. Tough gig.

Points per game: 1.91

Garry Monk – Swansea
As far as interim manager spells go, beating your nearest rivals 3-0 in your first game in charge before leading the club into the knockout stages of a European competition is pretty good. In Monk’s only full season in charge, Swansea finished with their record points tally in the Premier League, but he only lasted until the following December.

Points per game: 1.31

Mike Phelan – Hull
Given Hull’s disastrous summer, expectations were low at the start of last term. Phelan earned a permanent role thanks to wins over Leicester and Swansea, but the season swiftly unraveled and he was sacked in January.

Points per game: 0.65

Craig Shakespeare – Leicester
Shakespeare provoked an immediate reaction from his Leicester players but was sacked only four months into a three-year contract earlier this month.

Points per game: 1.38


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