Neil Warnock has revealed envious managers – and their agents – have suggested to Cardiff City owner Vincent Tan he should sack the current boss.
Warnock is leading something of a revival at the Bluebirds, with two victories in their last four matches. But as he prepares for the trip to Everton this weekend, the manager who will turn 70 next week has spoken of attempts to get him out of his job.
Reflecting on the events that led to Fulham’s Slavisa Jokanovic being replaced by Claudio Ranieri, Warnock said: “Vincent tells me every time I see him, how many agents and managers are ringing him up telling him to sack me and bring this or that manager in.
“They’re all great managers and when I do eventually leave it will be interesting to see how the club moves forward. Owners take a lot of influence from outside information.
“When things aren’t going well they tend to listen more than they would do normally.
Warnock says he detested the way Fulham handled the simultaneous sacking of Jakanovic and the appointment of Ranieri.
Fulham chairman Shahid Khan announced on the club’s website last week that Jokanovic had been sacked and replaced by Ranieri, who memorably led Leicester to the Premier League title in 2016.
Khan said Fulham had spoken with several potential candidates before choosing Ranieri to replace Jokanovic, who led the Cottagers to promotion last season but are now bottom of the Premier League after winning only once in 12 games.
“I was obviously disappointed in Slavisa losing his job. It’s football, isn’t it?” Warnock said.
“But it does leave a bitter taste in my mouth when a manager gets appointed five minutes after they’ve sacked somebody and he talks about how they’ve been talking to the club for a few days or weeks.
“That is football, I’m afraid. It’s a horrible industry. That is the one part of football that I detest.”
Ranieri takes charge of Fulham for the first time on Saturday with relegation rivals Southampton the visitors to Craven Cottage.
Cardiff are also in the bottom three and, asked if the League Managers’ Association could have any input on preventing the Fulham scenario happening again, Warnock replied: “We all know that we’re going to get the sack at some stage.
“I don’t think the LMA have really got any input into that.
“Owners just do what they want. They’re not really bothered about the LMA.
“We all know that is the industry. All of the managers down the bottom end know that it could be around the corner.”
Warnock said last month it was difficult to take when out-of-work managers have turned up at games during difficult times in his managerial career.
And he said owner Tan has told him this season that others have touted for his job.
“It’s quite easy to lose faith and to think that the grass on the other side is greener.”
Warnock also revealed he plans to strike early in the January transfer window and avoid a repeat of his summer frustration.
Warnock missed out on Chelsea’s Tammy Abraham in August when a late bid failed to prevent the England forward joining Sky Bet Championship club Aston Villa on loan for the season.
A striker remains top of Warnock’s January wish-list with a full-back and a central midfielder also on his most wanted.
“Definitely we are looking. We’re only allowed one other loan from the Premier League because we’ve got Harry (Arter) until the end of the season.
“We have to prioritise which players we can get on loan and then we’ve got to look abroad to bring the other two or three in, which we are doing at the moment.
“I would think it makes sense if we can get players on loan, rather than spending massive money, until you know if you’re in the Premier League or not.
“But I’m sure if the right striker came about and we’ve got the realistic money, I think Vincent would listen to us.
“We need to try and get a move on so we’ve got one or two in straight away in January, rather than the last minute again.”
Cardiff remain in the relegation zone after beating Brighton 2-1 at home before the international break.
But they have won two of their last four games and Warnock believes his side, written off by many at the start of the season, are becoming more competitive with each passing week.
“I think we can do better than what we have done,” Warnock said. “We’ve got to eliminate those mistakes and continue to put teams under pressure.
“We’ve got a run now where we’re playing teams who are not in the top six, not beyond us.”
Having given his squad a few days off during the international break, Warnock himself is refreshed for the coming weeks after a four-day trip to New York with his wife Sharon.
“When you get to my age (Warnock turns 70 on December 1) and you look at the news and the newspapers, everyone you know is passing away and there’s all sorts of things going on in the world,” he said.
“So you have got to grasp everything while you can, hence it was probably the best four days of my life in New York with my wife.
“We had an absolutely amazing time. On the last day, we booked lunch at a place in the middle of Central Park called the Boat House.
“We got a horse and carriage from the hotel and, as we’re driving through ‘clippety-clop’, the first snowflakes came down.
“So I turned to her and said ‘See darling, I’ve organised everything, even a few snowflakes for you.’
“So for me, that is life. I just love moments like that, and that’s why I love my lads.
“Whatever happens with us, I know my team will give me everything.”