Nigel Adkins is still not the bookies’ favourite to be the next Premier League manager to get the sack – but odds compilers are already taking bets on his possible successor.
The pressure is mounting on Adkins following Saints’ poor start to the season, and the manager himself has admitted he is unsure how much time he will be given to turn things around.
The bookies still don’t fancy him to be the next to go though.
Mark Hughes, whose QPR side prop up the table having failed to win a game yet this season, is the favourite at 5-4 with Adkins trailing in at 3-1. The next shortest priced is 20-1 on Reading boss Brian McDermott.
Despite Adkins still having his job, it hasn’t stopped the bookies speculating on a possible successor, even if there is plenty of doubt over their wisdom in pricing Harry Redknapp as favourite at 7-4.
The former Saints boss would not be a popular choice among many fans and the general consensus is his style of management could be at odds with the way in which executive chairman Nicola Cortese is trying to run the club.
Saints have been there before with Rupert Lowe employing Redknapp to try and keep the club in the Premier League having got off to a bad start under Steve Wigley. On that occasion Saints were relegated from the top flight.
Many neutrals believe there is a chance that Saints might go for a foreign coach who is used to working in the kind of continental style set-up behind the scenes at St Mary’s.
Former Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez is rated as second favourite as 6-1 while those who believe Cortese might go Italian could be looking at ex-Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri at 28-1.
Other Italians towards the top of the bookies list include Delio Rossi and Fabio Capello, left, while fiery Swindon manager Paolo Di Canio is priced at 33-1.
The bookmakers obviously aren’t sure though as they have British managers well represented in their list as well.
Alan Curbishley (25-1), Alan Shearer (25-1) and Chris Powell (33-1) all figure while a trip of former Saints managers are also up there with Dave Jones (33-1), Glenn Hoddle (33-1) and Gordon Strachan (33-1) all tipped too.
The biggest outsider is Matt Le Tissier at 500-1 but, given his fractious relationship with Cortese, most punters will probably keep their powder dry on that one, even if they do believe that Adkins may leave, which is certainly far from a done deal yet, no matter what the bookies think.
