Interim manager is a title that has grown in popularity in the Premier League over the years, with Burnley the latest side to go down the route following the shock dismissal of Sean Dyche in April with Mike Jackson.
However, the Clarets U-23 coach has been nothing short of a revelation for Burnley, with the Turf Moor side currently out of the relegation zone and now favourites to avoid the drop with Everton continuing to slip up at every possible opportunity.
Indeed, Jackson will go down in Burnley folklore if can pull off the impossible, yet the 48-year-old will still have some catching up to do to join the annals of the Premier League’s best interim managers, and here are just three who did a sensational job in the English top-flight.
Sam Allardyce – Sunderland
The ultimate Premier League firefighter, Sam Allardyce was appointed as interim Sunderland manager in October 2015 with one task and one task only, keep the Black Cats up despite the incredible odds against them.
With Sunderland 19th at the time, things looked bleak for Big Sam and the historic northeast side, but as we know, Allardyce managed to pull off the impossible and keep the Stadium of Light side up to keep the peak Barclays tradition going for another season longer.
An emphatic 3-0 win in May against Everton relegated both Newcastle United and Norwich City to confirm Sunderland’s Premier League status for next season, and just like that, Allardyce was gone, with the veteran manager famously going on to become England manager the following summer after the Three Lions car crash that was Euro 2016.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer – Manchester United
It might be an odd inclusion, but it’s easy to forget that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer first returned to Manchester United on an interim basis following the sacking of Jose Mourinho in December 2018.
Only viewed as a stop-gap for the season, Solskjaer quickly turned United’s form around and then some, with the Norwegian coach winning an astonishing 14 of this first 19 games as United’s interim manager, including a dramatic UEFA Champions League win over PSG in the Round of 16 which essentially won the former Molde boss the permanent role with the Red Devils.
As expected, things quickly began to turn sour for Solskjaer at United after being named full-time manager. Whilst there were some highs such as making the UEFA Europa League final and two top-four finishes, the Scandinavian was eventually sacked, with Ralf Rangnick taking over as interim before Erik Ten Hag takes over the full-time position next season.
Roberto Di Matteo – Chelsea
When it comes to interim managers, one club in the Premier League knows them better than anyone, that being west London giants Chelsea. And from the surprisingly vast selection of coaches to choose from, Roberto Di Matteo is the clear winner.
Whilst the likes of Guus Hiddink and Rafa Benitez enjoyed some level of success with the Blues, Di Matteo retains a special place in Chelsea history for just what the Italian managed to achieve at Stamford Bridge, with the coach securing both an FA Cup and the club’s first-ever Champions League title.
Being appointed shortly after Chelsea’s 3-1 loss to Napoli, an exit from Europe looked likely. But Di Matteo managed to turn the ship around in a dramatic fashion, winning the second-leg 4-1 before going on to eliminate both Benfica and Barcelona and then claiming the famous penalty shoot-out win in Bavaria against Bayern Munich in the final.
As with Solskjaer, things immediately went downhill for Di Matteo after taking the Chelsea manager role permanently, and within a few months of the new season, the Italian was sacked, with Benitez coming in on an interim basis for the remainder of the campaign.
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