GARY O’Neil became the 21st person to be named permanent boss of a Premier League club following a caretaker spell on Sunday – but how have those that have previously made the transition fared?
In three decades of Premier League football a myriad of terms have been used to describe temporary managers, with David O'Leary referred to as both acting and stand-in manager when he initially took charge of Leeds in the wake of George Graham's departure to Tottenham Hotspur in October 1998.
Although the exact terminology used differs depending on the clubs involved, we are looking at managers and head coaches that were initially labelled as caretaker or interim bosses before taking on the role full-time.
In order to draw fairer comparisons, only the Premier League record of managers has been included, with cup competitions ignored.
For that reason, those who initially started their spells in charge of the club whilst outside the Premier League have been excluded.
The noticeable trend for permanent appointments after caretaker spells is the fact that all but four were sacked from their roles.
That alone is perhaps not noteable - most managerial departures in the Premier League are due to sackings - however, it is interesting that none of the 20 managers were headhunted for bigger roles.
Only Parker left his role to take up another opportunity elsewhere immediately. Joe Kinnear’s contract expired at the end of the 2008/09 season, although his departure was heavily linked to his ailing health.
Glenn Roeder and Ricky Sbragia offered their resignations at the end of their respective seasons at Newcastle and Sunderland – Roeder doing so after calls from the fans after perceived underperformance, whilst Sbragia quit after keeping the Black Cats in the division, believing a bigger name was better suited to the job.
Before we look at specific examples, here is the full record of caretaker-turned-permanent managers:
Scott Parker - Fulham
Caretaker spell - Feb 2019 - May 2019 - 1 PPG (P9 W3 D0 L6)
Permanent spell - May 2019 - June 2021 - 0.74 PPG (P38 W5 D13 L20)
O’Neil is the first head coach to be given a permanent role at a club following a caretaker stint since his predecessor, Scott Parker, took charge of Fulham after the departure of Claudio Ranieri in March 2019.
Although he was unable to prevent them from slipping to relegation, he was handed a two-year deal ahead of the 2019-20 Championship campaign.
He led the Cottagers back to the Premier League at the first attempt, but again tasted relegation in his first full season in the top-flight.
The former Cherries boss is a rare example of a caretaker manager being appointed on a permanent basis despite failing to prevent relegation. Whilst only his record in the Premier League has been highlighted, Parker averaged 1.76 points per game in the Championship with Fulham.
He departed Craven Cottage to join Cherries following the club's second relegation, officially leaving after a mutual decision to part ways.
Chris Coleman - Fulham
Caretaker spell - March 2003 - May 2003 - 2 PPG (P5 W3 D1 L1)
Permanent spell - May 2003 - April 2007 - 1.22 PPG (P147 W47 D38 L62)
Fulham have previous with hiring caretaker managers permanently - a trend that started with Chris Coleman. The Welshman stepped in after Jean Tigana was sacked in March 2003, although the Cottagers were not in any real danger of being relegated.
Coleman is one of just two caretaker managers that went on to reach a century of Premier League games after being handed the permanent role, the other being O'Leary at Leeds with 142 games.
Overall, Coleman did a decent job at Fulham, maintaining their Premier League status for three seasons, sacked towards the tail end of the 2006-07 campaign with the Cottagers four points above the drop zone.
Ironically, Coleman was initially replaced by Lawrie Sanchez on an interim basis, whom Fulham later decided to install permanently.
He is also one of few caretakers that went on to achieve elsewhere, leading Wales to a first major tournament in 58 years, taking his country to the semi-finals of the Euros in 2016.
Garry Monk - Swansea
Caretaker spell - February 2014 - May 2014 - 1.15 PPG (P13 W4 D3 L6)
Permanent spell - May 2014 - December 2015 - 1.35 PPG (P54 W20 D13 L21)
Garry Monk was club captain at Swansea when he was appointed interim manager at Swansea. The first game of his caretaker spell was a South Wales derby against Cardiff, the Bluebirds led by future caretaker-turned-permanent Manchester United manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Swansea won 3-0, before going on to secure their Premier League status with a game to spare. That ensured Monk got the job on a full-time basis, a position he would hold for 18 months.
Monk is one of just three managers to improve their points per game record after taking the permanent job (Roberto Di Matteo at Chelsea and O'Leary at Leeds the others), whilst his only full season in charge saw the Swans finish eighth, with a club record points tally for the Premier League.
The fairytale did not continue, with Monk sacked in December 2015 following a run of one win in 11 games.
Tim Sherwood - Tottenham Hotspur
Caretaker spell - December 2013 - December 2013 - 3 PPG (P1 W1 D0 L0)
Permanent spell - December 2013 - May 2014 - 1.35 PPG (P21 W12 D3 L6)
Cherries took their time in appointing a new manager after the departure of Parker, with O'Neil viewed as doing a more than acceptable job in the interim.
Of course, he proved to do such an acceptable job he was made permanent manager, but other caretakers have been given long-term deals on far less evidence.
On average, managers made permanent bosses following stand-in spells have 8.48 games in charge to make their mark, the longest stint being Kenny Daglish's 16-game remit at Liverpool in 2011.
Tim Sherwood managed just one Premier League game, a 3-2 victory over Southampton, before Spurs chairman Daniel Levy awarded him an 18-month permanent contract.
In truth, Sherwood practically remained a caretaker manager, with the former England international sacked at the end of the same season he was hired.
Sherwood would refer to himself as a "substitute teacher" such was his lack of authority, with players reportedly told that he would not remain in his post beyond the end of the season.
His managerial record was far from the worst on the list - he achieved a sixth-place finish, albeit taking over Spurs when they were seventh in the table.
(Pictures: PA Images)
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