Latest Stoke City news from StokeonTrentLive as Championship sack race odds throw up a few surprises
14:46, 28 Aug 2025
Mark Robins is overseeing his first summer as Stoke City manager.
Mark Robins is overseeing his first summer as Stoke City manager.(Image: Gary Oakley/PA Wire)
Gary Rowett leads the way for Stoke City managers past and present in the Championship sack race.
The man who led the Potters immediately after relegation from the Premier League in 2018 has overseen an underwhelming start to the new season at Oxford United, leaving him 6-1 third favourite to be shown the door first.
The Us are just -2 goals better off than Sheffield United at the bottom of the table after three defeats on the spin, and they capped that with a 6-0 rout at the hands of Premier League Brighton in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday.
Of course, current boss Mark Robins is in a position no other holder of the big chair at Stoke has enjoyed for many a long day… sitting top of the Championship table.
But even that does not make him the safest boss in the division, according to gaming site sportscasting.com.
Robins has overseen three wins out of three and faces a lunchtime clash with West Brom on Saturday to ensure the Potters retain their lofty perch going into the September international break.
Yet he is still only ranked as the third safest boss from the sack in the latest odds, a 33-1 shot along with Rob Edwards of second-placed Middlesbrough and, somewhat bizarrely, John Mousinho, whose Portsmouth side are no better than 11th.
The man officially safest from getting the chop is Birmingham City’s Chris Davies, who is ranked at 50/1 despite the fact his team are two points worse off than the Potters in the early table.
Next in line is the man who replaced Robins at Coventry City last November, Frank Lampard, who has overseen a 12-goal feast from his Sky Blues in their last two games after an unlikely goalless draw against Hull on the opening day.
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The likes of Michael O’Neill, Steven Schumacher and Narcis Pelach have also managed Stoke since relegation, but are no longer working in the Championship.
Of those that are, Nathan Jones is a 25/1 shot for the sack from Charlton Athletic (W1, D1, L1) after getting the Londoners promoted via the play-offs last season.
Alex Neil has guided Millwall to eighth in the fledgling table with two wins and a defeat to be listed at 28/1 for an early exit from the Den. His Lions also dumped high-flying Coventry out of the Carabao Cup too this week.
Rubén Sellés of Sheffield United is the current favourite to be the first Championship manager to leave his post, priced at 5/6.
Championship Sack Race Odds 2025/26
Rubén Sellés (Sheffield United) 5/6
Julien Stéphan (Queens Park Rangers) 4/1
Gary Rowett (Oxford United) 6/1
Valérien Ismaël (Blackburn Rovers) 8/1
Henrik Pedersen (Sheffield Wednesday) 10/1
Martí Cifuentes (Leicester City) 12/1
Sergej Jakirović (Hull City) 12/1
Paulo Pezzolano (Watford) 14/1
Kieran McKenna (Ipswich Town) 16/1
Phil Parkinson (Wrexham) 16/1
Alan Sheehan (Swansea City) 20/1
John Eustace (Derby County) 20/1
Will Still (Southampton) 20/1
Liam Manning (Norwich City) 22/1
Gerhard Struber (Bristol City) 25/1
Nathan Jones (Charlton Athletic) 25/1
Paul Heckingbottom (Preston North End) 25/1
Ryan Mason (West Bromwich Albion) 25/1
Alex Neil (Millwall) 28/1
John Mousinho (Portsmouth) 33/1
Mark Robins (Stoke City) 33/1
Rob Edwards (Middlesbrough) 33/1
Frank Lampard (Coventry City) 40/1
Chris Davies (Birmingham City) 50/1
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