Ten Hag, Parker, Xisco: Who were the first Premier League managers to be sacked each season?

Graham Potter's tenure at West Ham United is over, with the former Chelsea boss dismissed just five games into the 2025-26 Premier League season following a horror start.

The Englishman is the first managerial casualty of the new campaign, after only one win, with four defeats and an EFL Cup exit to Wolverhampton Wanderers under his belt.

It ends a rough nine-month spell at London Stadium for the ex-Brighton & Hove Albion boss, once tipped as a future England manager, and now back out in the wilderness.

West Ham will hope their early decision staves off the threat of relegation, with the club currently ranked in the bottom three - but is the grass always greener with such calls?

Here, DAZN News profiles the first managerial exit from the Premier League in the past five seasons, to see whether it worked out for teams - or if it proved to be their downfall.

2024-25: Erik ten Hag (Manchester United)

James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images

The Dutchman arrived from Ajax two years prior full of confidence he could stop the rot of a team that had crumbled late in the Ole Gunnar Solskjaer era despite some strides.

His first year suggested promise, as he froze out Cristiano Ronaldo, reshaped the team and guided them to the EFL Cup and a top-three finish in his first season in charge.

A dramatic reversal of fortune in 2023-24 saw him touch and go for survival, but an FA Cup win against bitter rivals Manchester City stayed his execution with a new contract.

But having put their faith in Ten Hag, United promptly dumped him in October, with the team sat 14th in the table, and ultimately replaced him with Sporting's Ruben Amorim.

The change proved arguably more catastrophic, with the Red Devils ultimately finishing 15th, four points above the drop - though they did reach the UEFA Europa League Final.

2023-24: Paul Heckingbottom (Sheffield United)

A turbulent pre-season saw Gary O'Neil sacked by Bournemouth before replacing Julen Lopetegui at Wolves, but the first in-season casualty came up in South Yorkshire.

Former Leeds boss Heckingbottom had overseen one Premier League relegation as interim boss following Chris Wilder's dismissal in 2021, and was passed over for the job.

However, after Slaviša Jokanović failed to fire, the ex-Barnsely supremo got the reins again and guided them to a second-place finish with promotion the following season.

Getty Images

That goodwill surely kept him in his job longer than it should have - he took only five points from fourteen games and was sacked in December, replaced by the returning Wilder.

The return of a former Blades hero could not stem the tide, and United were duly relegated rock-bottom of the Premier League, with a pretty dire 16 points to their name.

2022-23: Scott Parker (Bournemouth)

There's never been much success for the 2011 FWA Footballer of the Year, whose transition to managerial life has seen plenty of promotional ups and then dismissal downs.

Appointed Cherries boss ahead of the 2021-22 campaign as Jonathan Woodgate's successor in the EFL Championship, Parker made a flying start to life on the South Coast.

He took them unbeaten across their first fifteen games of the season, and ultimately secured automatic promotion as runners-up to make a swift return to the Premier League.

But less than a month into his latest top-flight return, Parker found himself dismissed after three horror-show results - including a 9-0 loss to Liverpool, a division joint-record.

He lambasted the club's transfer policy and was promptly replaced by Gary O'Neil, who - despite flirting with a bottom-three finish - ultimately guided them to 15th and safety.

2021-22: Xisco Muñoz (Watford)

The merry-go-round at Vicarage Road under Gino Pozzo is as much a staple of English football as terrace chants, so it came as little surprise when the Hornets struck again.

Similar to Potter, Xisco had not really got his sea legs in for too long at the club, but he had improved Watford's fortunes after replacing Vladimir Ivić in December 2020.

Getty Images

There, in the EFL Championship, he led the club on an impressive run to a second-place finish and earned the league's Manager of the Month award for his exploits in March.

But with the club 14th in the Premier League, Xisco was unceremoniously shown the door in favour of a big-name replacement - former title winner Claudio Ranieri.

The move proved a disaster. The Italian was also shuffled out in January, marking two changes in a single season, and Roy Hodgson failed to prevent 19th place and relegation.

2020-21: Slaven Bilić (West Bromwich Albion)

With a global pandemic having reshaped the sporting calendar, a delayed September start meant that it took until December for the first manager to be shown to the door.

It was at The Hawthorns, where the Baggies bid farewell to the ex-West Ham boss who had overseen their return from the second tier - but like many, struggled to adapt.

Bilić had arrived in June 2019, and up until the final matchweek before the sport ground to a halt, had them first in the EFL Championship before slipping to second place.

They ultimately finished there, but could not make a successful leap back to Premier League status, and duly relieved their top man of his duties with the club sat in 19th.

West Brom turned to Sam Allardyce, known for his ability to survive the drop - but not even the former England manager could work his magic, and they were duly relegated.

How to watch Serie A on DAZN? 

DAZN brings fans closer to the action with live coverage of all 10 matches per round, delivering world-class Italian football to more fans in more ways in the United Kingdom and Ireland, Canada, and the U.S (Spanish-language only).

You can watch Serie A games via the DAZN App, available on smart TVs, phones, tablets, streaming devices, games consoles, and web browsers.

If you do not have the App already, then just follow these instructions....

• Download the free DAZN App from your normal App store on your TV, phone, tablet, or streaming device
• On a laptop or PC, visit www.DAZN.com/home
• Select 'Get started' or 'log in'
• Enter your email address, or sign up via the Apple, Google, or Facebook options
• You then have access to all of DAZN's free content, including the Matchroom boxing channel and FIFA+
• Then find our Serie A page and click 'buy now'