5 managers who may be sacked soon

#3 Luciano Spalletti (Inter Milan)

Spaletti is running out of time

Unless you're a team of the ilk of Real Madrid or Bayern Munich or Barcelona, a third position normally makes for a good reading, especially when you're playing in a league that's hegemonised by a team since the past eight years.

And yet, here we are, with Luciano Spalletti hanging on to his life (and his job) at Inter.

The Nerazzurris have proved to be woefully inept against mid-table teams - Torino, Sassuolo and Parma - while the unceremonious exit from the Champions League, despite winning the opening two matches, have turned the atmosphere in the blue half of Milan into that of disgruntlement. And rightfully so.

The 2010 Serie A champions splashed extravagantly in the summer in pursuit of precocious talents such as Radja Nainggolan and Sime Vrsaljko, whilst also roped in Stefan de Vrij and Kwadwo Asamoah on a Bosman. Still, Inter, even though third in the standings, are a good 19 points behind runaway leaders Bianconeris and another eight off the Partenopei who're second.

But until and unless they can muster a degree of consistency in their gameplay and avoid dropping points against lower sides, the Serpents can drop even further down the table as crosstown rivals Milan are lurking right behind them. And Spalletti may not even live to see the end of this campaign.