Martinez Odds Cut In Sack Race

The strength of the relationship between Roberto Martinez and chairman Dave Whelan was one of the main reasons the Spaniard resisted Aston Villa’s overtures and stayed at Wigan in the summer. After seven consecutive defeats, that marriage is being put to the test. Stan James make Martinez the 7/4 favourite to be the next Premier League manager to leave his post. Ladbrokes disagree and price him up at 6/1, with Steve Kean their 10/11 favourite.

Owen Coyle is another man under pressure, Bolton lie second bottom after eight defeats in their opening ten games. A difficult fixture list has been blamed for the poor start but excuses are starting to wear thin as the bookmakers have cut him to 7/1 (Bet365) for the chop.

After consecutive defeats Andre Villas-Boas has seen his odds shrink from 50/1 to 40/1 (Paddy Power), with the trigger happy Roman Abramovich not renowned for showing patience with his managers.

One man who can breathe a little more easily is Arsene Wenger; his team have won eight of their last nine games in all competitions. The league’s second longest serving manager is 40/1 (Paddy Power) having been as short as 11/2 after Arsenal’s defeat at Blackburn.