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In recent years, the Premier League has grown into a global phenomenon, with a strong overseas presence and ever-growing coffers. This increase in the Premier League's earnings and expenditure has led to increased stakes for Premier League clubs. The rewards for finishing higher in the table have become larger, whereas the downfalls of being relegated have become worse.
In such a competitive atmosphere, the role of the Premier League manager has become more strenuous and short-lived. The manager has traditionally been a more prominent figure in English football, which has made them more culpable when things go wrong. The Premier League has already seen the terminations of four managers this season, namely Frank de Boer, Craig Shakespeare, Ronald Koeman and Slaven Bilic.
However, when Premier League managers depart, it can often be difficult for clubs to fix the problems that precipitated the termination of the manager in the first place. Interim managers often have to come into struggling clubs and pick up the pieces, and that can be a daunting task. While most temporary appointments struggle to inspire comebacks, there have been a few interim managers who have been considerably successful in their endeavours. Here is a list of five such managers who were able to help a club in their brief spells in charge.
#5 Guus Hiddink
Guus Hiddink has been appointed as interim manager of Chelsea on two separate occasions. His first spell as interim manager came during the 2008-09 season, after the sacking of Luiz Felipe Scolari. The Dutchman reinvigorated a fading Chelsea side, winning his first three matches as manager of Chelsea.
Chelsea lost only one Premier League match under Guus Hiddink in the remainder of the season, eventually finishing third in the league. Hiddink's chances of winning the league were mathematically impossible when he joined as interim manager, but Chelsea performed well to eventually finish just seven points behind champions Manchester United. The Blues also won the FA Cup by defeating Everton 2-1 in the final.
His second spell as interim manager came in the 2015-16 season, after the unceremonious departure of Jose Mourinho. Chelsea were languishing in 16th place when Hiddink joined and the club was mired in chaos. Hiddink put together an unbeaten run of 12 games in the league, helping Chelsea to eventually finish in 10th place.
#4 Tim Sherwood
Tim Sherwood became the interim manager of the Tottenham's first team after the departure of Andre Villas-Boas in 2013. Sherwood, who had previously managed Spur's U-21 team, took over a Tottenham side that was seventh in the league and was largely comprised of inexperienced youngsters.
Sherwood stabilised the Tottenham team and gave several younger players like Nabil Bentaleb a run in the squad. While Tottenham eventually ended up finishing in sixth place with a few good performances to their name, Sherwood was sacked by chairman Daniel Levy at the end of the season. Sherwood's last game as manager was a 3-0 win over Aston Villa, the club where he would become the manager in 2015.
Following his termination from the role of Aston Villa manager, Tim Sherwood was briefly in charge of Swindon Town in League 1. His tenure ended with Swindon's regulation to League 2 in 2017, and he currently works as a pundit for Al Jazeera.
#3 Chris Coleman
Chris Coleman joined Fulham in 2002 as a part of the coaching staff, after his playing career was curtailed by an injury sustained during a car-crash. Following Tigana's controversial departure from the club, Coleman was appointed to the role of a caretaker manager in April 2003. The Welshman steered Fulham to safety in the midst of a heated relegation battle and was appointed as full-time manager at the end of the season.
In his first full season as manager of Fulham, Chris Coleman led the Cottagers to a surprise ninth-place finish, in spite of many pundits predicting that they would struggle and that Coleman would be sacked. Coleman was eventually axed in 2007, after a string of poor performances and the departure of several important players. Coleman currently manages the Welsh national team, but his future is currently in doubt after Wales failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.
#2 Garry Monk
In February 2014, Swansea were in an incredibly precarious position in the Premier League, just two points above the relegation zone and in freefall. Michael Laudrup had just been sacked and the Swans were struggling to find a replacement for the Danish manager. Swansea chairman Huw Jenkins made the bold choice to appoint veteran centre-back Garry Monk as interim player-manager, and his decision paid dividends.
Monk's Swansea side managed to survive a difficult relegation battle, eventually ensuring their place in the Premier League with a match to spare. Monk was appointed as Swansea manager on a permanent basis at the end of the season but was terminated in the following season after a run of bad results in which the Swans won one game in 11 matches.
Monk moved to Leeds United after his spell as Swansea manager, where his Leeds team started brightly and seemed like favourites to make it to the playoffs. However, a sudden loss of form in their last 8 matches meant that Leeds would lose out on the playoffs, and Monk resigned. He is currently the manager of newly-relegated Championship side Middlesbrough.
#1 Roberto Di Matteo
Roberto Di Matteo came to Chelsea with Andre Villas-Boas as an assistant coach in 2011. The club began the season well, but pressure began to mount on Villas-Boas after a string of poor performances led to Chelsea dropping out of the top four. The Portuguese manager was sacked in February 2012, and Di Matteo was promoted to the role of interim manager.
Di Matteo began his stint as manager with three successive victories, most notable of which was Chelsea's 4-1 victory over Napoli in the Champions League, which helped them overturn a 3-1 first-leg deficit. While Chelsea eventually finished 6th in the league under Di Matteo, the Italian manager won the Champions League and the FA Cup in that season.
Di Matteo was appointed as full-time manager in the following season but was promptly sacked after Chelsea became the first club to crash out in the group stage a season after winning the Champions League. He went on to manage FC Schalke in the Bundesliga, and is currently out of a job, after being fired from his position as Aston Villa manager in 2016.
