Manager Sack Index: Steve Bruce bites the dust. AVB checks into top 5

As Footybozz predicted on Monday , Steve Bruce met his waterloo today as Sunderland's Manager. With Bruce's exit, we are re-shuffling the deck and introducing our latest entry into the sack lottery.

#1. Owen Coyle

With Steve Bruce's demise, Owen Coyle moves into the number 1 spot. Oddly, the odds (no pun intended) should have been in favor of Steve Kean, but we think he may survive Swansea visiting this weekend, while Owen Coyle will not avoid defeat to Tottenham.

#2. Steve Kean

Nonetheless, we still have Steve featured as a close second. Kean claimed his team 'sacrificed' their Carling Cup game to Cardiff City (they lost 0-2), to focus on the Swansea game. He considers Swansea a winnable  game to help them off the bottom of the table. If this gamble fails, Kean's out the next day.

#3. Mick McCarthy

Mick's Wolves plays manager-less Sunderland next. That piles more pressure on Mick than when Bruce was still around. If he doesn't get maximum points, he may not get another chance.

#4. Andres Villa Boas
Surprise, surprise. AVB seemed pretty secure after a 3-0 victory against Wolves last weekend. However, after losing to Liverpool in the Carling Cup quarter finals yesterday at Stamford Bridge (2nd loss to the same team in 10 days), he's back on the hot seat. What really makes AVB's sack imminent is the fact that he has lost all games against top teams - 1-3 to Man Utd, 3-5 to Arsenal, 1-2 & 0-2 to Liverpool. Also, Guus Hiddick and Rafa Benitez are available. I added Rafa because he is probably the only Manager that can revive Fernando Torres from his coma.

#5. Roberto Martinez

With Wigan second to last on the table, you would have expected Martinez to be up there with Steve Kean and Steve Bruce. However, he showed great loyalty to the Wigan owners when he turned down an opportunity to join Aston Villa in the off-season. The owners will show great loyalty by giving him some more weeks till the end of the year, to improve.