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Taking charge of a club as a manager or the head coach is one of the most demanding jobs in football. The pain of putting up with the hierarchy of the club and the immediate backlash from fans at first sight of failure test the individual's temper to the very best.
Additionally, there is pressure to keep the maximum number of players in the squad happy with their roles and keep the conflict of interest at bay. A few top men in the business have understood these benchmarks and have helped their clubs to various accolades. The likes of Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp, Carlo Ancelotti and a few others are widely respected in modern football today and have certainly won it all.
But there are also others, who have been functioning away from the spotlight and their managerial brilliance is less talked about due to the clubs they currently manage. This lot has proven that they are ready to tame bigger sharks in the ocean and that a move to a more popular club would be well deserved.
On that note, here are five managers in Europe right now who should be managing a bigger club:
#5 Christophe Galtier
Christophe Galtier has become somewhat of an expert at working on a strict budget after his three years at Ligue 1 club Lille. Given that the French top-flight is seen among the weaker and less competitive leagues in Europe, it took a while for his work to be noticed. Galtier's efforts at Lille finally became the talk of the town after they dethroned Paris Saint-Germain to become Ligue 1 champions last season.
Galtier transformed Lille from a side desperate to avoid relegation in 2018-19 to a team gunning for glory in 2020-21. Despite losing significant members of the squad like Victor Osimhen, Gabriel Magalhaes and Nico Gaitan, he replenished the squad with shrewd recruitment.
The Frenchman likes to see his team press high and with Lille set up in a 4-4-2 and sometimes 4-2-3-1 formation, he likes to provide roaming space for his striker. Galtier's team go through ample transitions while progressing the ball within blocks and though they have the pace to counter, he's made them comfortable with ball retention.
Galtier has shown that given enough time and trust, he is capable of readying a below par team that can topple the big boys. He is not someone who likes to see his team play old age football. The flanks are very much the hotspots from where most of the aggressive action happens.
He left Lille after guiding them to Ligue 1 success but was persuaded to take up the job at OGC Nice. He has started exactly where he left off, with Nice sitting third in Ligue 1 right now, scoring 17 goals and conceding just five. Undoubtedly, Galtier could do well at a bigger club.
#4 Sérgio Conceição
Locally named by many as the new Jose Mourinho, Sergio Conceicao has transformed FC Porto once again into an interesting and adventurous team. Since his arrival at Porto, he's really answered the prayers of their fan base and made them a team worthy of silverware once again.
Conceicao took over from Nuno Espirito Santo, who departed for English side Wolverhampton Wanderers. Under Nuno, Porto weren't able to end their wait for a league title.
Enter Conceicao and Porto have their first Portuguese League title in five years, comfortably seeing off competition from Benfica. The following season, they successfully defended their league title and even added the Portuguese Cup to their achievement list.
He has overseen 228 games as Porto boss and they have won 168 of those, losing and sharing spoils on 33 occasions each. Conceicao keeps his Porto side compact as he employs a high press style with a 4-4-2 formation. Porto, under the Portuguese, are known for being a side that plays and transitions fast, with ample short passes and little need to bypass the midfield with long balls.
Conceicao has shown that he can mould his team to play at the level of Europe's elites in the Champions League. Twice in the past three years, he reached the quarter finals with Porto where he was defeated by Liverpool and Chelsea at each turn. He has proven he's ready to take charge at a club with ambitions to compete in Europe and a big move could be on the cards next season.
#3 Graham Potter
After becoming a casual topic for chats in football circles about how underrated he is, Graham Potter is finally becoming the hot property in the Premier League. Under his tutelage, Brighton have started the season in sublime fashion. Potter is known for lifting teams from the mud and putting them on a pedestal with the big boys.
In his first job at Swedish club Ostersunds, he took them from the fourth tier of to the top division Allsvenskan in successive seasons. Before anyone could get a fair idea of what was happening, Ostersunds were competing in the Europa League qualifiers and made it into the group stages in 2017.
A brief spell at Swansea followed after his successful venture in Sweden. In 2019 he took charge of Brighton and Hove Albion. In his two seasons at Brighton they have finsihed 15th and 16th respectively, clocking a points tally of 41 both times.
Potter has shown great faith in his players and has always backed them regardless of the results. Shane Duffy is a case in point who, after enduring a horrendous loan spell at Celtic last season, is one of Brighton's biggest sparks this season.
The fluidity of Brighton's system and the quick transition that they put in while shifting from attack to defense and vice versa is a testament to Potter's genius. Brighton line up in a 3-4-2-1 formation on paper but their clever transition allows them to attack in a 3-2-5 role with the wing-backs heavily involved.
Brighton play like a proper top six club would desire. The Seagulls can play out from the back, are confident in possession and can progress the ball through midfield at will. Brighton's xG has been pretty high as well, but they have lacked clinical finishing in front of goal and Potter can hardly do anything about it.
#2 Steven Gerrard
The fact that as soon as Newcastle United's Saudi takeover was complete rumors linking Steven Gerrard to the club started emerging is proof of his credentials. At a club with a rich history like Rangers, Gerrard inherited a challenge that many before him succumbed to.
Fierce rivals Celtic dominated the Scottish Premiership for a decade and the Rangers faithful's wait for the club's 55th title felt like it would never end. Enter Gerrard. The Liverpool legend started tackling the loopholes one by one. He gave them an identity to stick along with, something that had been very oblivious under those previously at the helm.
Recruitment was on point and brutally aimed at replenishing the engine as only four players from the 2019-19 season were part of their Invincible campaign last season. The Scottish side functions with a double pivot in the middle of the park with their full-backs heavily involved in attack.
Gerrard, a midfielder himself, ensures that his team allow enough space and time for their midfielders to roam around. Stevie G hands immense positional responsibility to his players and can be seen fuming when his players are caught out of position unnecessarily. In his 186 matches at helm, Rangers have won 120 games and lost only 27.
It certainly seems like a move to a more competitive league with a new club is just around the corner for Gerrard.
#1 Thomas Frank
There weren't many who were aware of Thomas Frank until this season when Brentford successfully realized their dream of becoming a Premier League side. The 47-year old is in his ninth year of senior football management. His tactics have been central to the Bees' meteoric rise from a mid-table Championship side to one of the Premier League's most exciting clubs.
Frank relies on a 3-5-2 system that quickly turns into a 3-4-2-1 as Brentford grow into the game and find themselves on the frontfoot while attacking. The Bees play high-intensity football backed by relentless pressing and Frank has conditioned his team extremely well to find empty spaces.
Unlike Steven Gerrard, who lays great emphasis on positional responsibility, Brentford are adventurous and there is frequent change of positioning involved. The Danish manager likes his centre-backs to play the ball from the back and allows for them to join in the play higher up the pitch.
Frank's ever-evolving tactics helped Brentford finish third twice in the Championship in each of the previous two campaigns. And though the promotion play-off final results were not in the favor of the Bees in 2019-20, last year was all theirs.
After ten attempts the club finally made it into the English top-flight and they are providing all the entertainment one would have asked for. Brentford have only lost two of their opening eight games this season, both 1-0.
One against Premier League title favorites Chelsea and the other against high-flying Brighton. They also produced a remarkable 2-0 win over Arsenal in the opening day of the season.
The 3-3 draw against Liverpool was the highlight of their Premier League journey so far and it was proof that Frank is more than capable of handling pressure situations. Brentford might soon have to try everything they can to keep hold of the Dane.
