Longest-serving Championship managers - after sackings at Watford, Cardiff and Huddersfield

Watford pulled the plug on Rob Edwards’ reign as manager and quickly appointed Slaven Bilic as his successor on Monday afternoon.

Edwards had only been in charge for 126 days after taking over from Forest Green Rovers, before he was relieved of his duties and swiftly replaced by the ex-West Ham and West Brom boss.

A damning statistic for the Championship is that out of the 24 clubs in the division, only six managers have managed their clubs for more than a year.

As teams battle for a place in the Premier League for that massive pot of broadcast money, bosses are in a more precarious position than ever.

Some clubs however have gone against the norm of their league rivals with boards giving time for their men in the hotseat to get it right.

Former Bristol City defender Mark Robins is the longest-serving manager in the Championship. He’s been in charge of Coventry City for five years and 203 days, which is three years more than his nearest rival Gary Rowett.

Rowett has managed Millwall for two years and 340 days, who earned his side a ninth-placed finish in the league last year. Nathan Jones, into his second spell at Luton Town, is the only other manager to manage more than two years at the club.

Robins boss Nigel Peason, who took charge in February 2021, is already the fifth longest-serving manager in the division, despite only managing City for a year and 216 days with only one full season under his belt.

The appointment of Bilic has him as the newest name on the list and he will hope he can be in the role long enough to guide the team back to the top flight.

He’s unlikely to be the newest manager in the division for long though with Cardiff City, Huddersfield Town and Rotherham United all on the lookout for new managers.

Paul Warne left Rotherham to drop down a division with Derby County after nearly six years at the Yorkshire club. Cardiff meanwhile sacked Steve Morison after a defeat to managerless Huddersfield, who axed Danny Schofield before beating the Bluebirds.

Seven clubs had made managerial changes before a ball had been kicked, with most afforded time to implement ideas, as well as bring their own staff and players in.

There have already been six managerial changes since the season began with the axing of Michael O’Neill sparking a managerial merry-go-round. Alex Neill surprisingly left Sunderland to join the Potters, whilst Tony Mowbray took charge.

Championship’s longest-serving managers

Mark Robins (Coventry City) - 5 years, 203 days

Gary Rowett (Millwall) - 2 years, 340 days

Nathan Jones (Luton Town) - 2 years, 121 days

Leam Richardson (Wigan Athletic) - 1 year, 317 days

Nigel Pearson (Bristol City) - 1 year, 216 days

Russell Martin (Swansea City) - 1 year, 56 days

Chris Wilder (Middlesbrough) - 323 days

Dean Smith (Norwich City) - 315 days

Paul Heckingbottom (Sheffield United) - 305 days

Ryan Lowe (Preston North End) - 293 days

Shota Arveladze (Hull City) - 242 days

Steve Bruce (West Bromwich Albion) - 235 days

Paul Ince (Reading) - 219 days

Michael Beale (Queens Park Rangers) - 117 days

Jon Dahl Tomasson (Blackburn Rovers - 104 days

Vincent Kompany (Burnley) - 104 days

Michael Appleton (Blackpool) - 101 days

John Eustace (Birmingham City) - 85 days

Alex Neil (Stoke City) - 29 days

Tony Mowbray (Sunderland) - 27 days

*Paul Harsley and Narcis Pelach (Huddersfield Town) - 12 days

Mark Hudson (Cardiff City) - 8 days

Slaven Bilic (Watford) - 0 days

Vacant (Rotherham United)