Premier League Sack Race: 5 managers who could be fired before the end of the season

4. Dean Smith

If Aston Villa are sucked back into danger, Dean Smith could be in trouble

Realistically, it’s unlikely that Aston Villa will dispense of Dean Smith any time soon; had they planned to remove the former Brentford boss from the hot-seat at Villa Park, they likely would’ve done so when the Villains were in the midst of a horrible losing streak a few weeks ago. Now though, after a big win over Watford, they’re finally out of the relegation zone.

But just suppose for a second that Villa do get sucked back into danger – which is a distinct possibility given their sketchy form thus far this season – then could owners Wes Edens and Nassef Sawiris be tempted to remove Smith from power? They’d definitely have their reasons.

Mainly, of all of last season’s promoted sides, Villa would probably be in the most trouble if they are relegated simply due to the fact that they’ve spent a lot of money to get into the Premier League. That could cause them to fall foul of UEFA’s Financial Fair Play rules – meaning that to avoid further issues, they’d almost certainly have to sell the likes of Jack Grealish and Tyrone Mings.

And it’s not like Edens and Sawiris don’t have previous; they dispensed of Steve Bruce ruthlessly in 2018-19 when it became clear that he wasn’t the man to take them into the Premier League. I don’t expect Smith to be fired this season, particularly if Villa can continue to keep up their current form, but he should still be considered in danger while his side are close to the drop zone.