ROY KEANE has only been in the job for just under eight months, and yet already he is amongst the top dozen longest serving managers in the Championship!That remarkable statistic confirms just how fickle football chairmen can be, the importance of immediate success, and the precarious nature of being a modern-day football manager.

Carl Marston

By Carl Marston

ROY KEANE has only been in the job for just under eight months, and yet already he is amongst the top dozen longest serving managers in the Championship!

That remarkable statistic confirms just how fickle football chairmen can be, the importance of immediate success, and the precarious nature of being a modern-day football manager.

Keane was appointed as the new Ipswich Town boss on April 23, and since that date no fewer than 12 clubs have parted company with their manager, some of them more than once!

The Irishman is now up to No. 12 in the list of Championship managers, in terms of their longevity.

While Town owner and chairman, Marcus Evans, has been prepared to back his manager despite such a dismal start to the season - Town were in the relegation zone for nearly four months until last weekend's 3-1 home win over Blackpool - the powerhouses in the board rooms elsewhere have not been so patient, or loyal.

The same goes for the fans as well. There have been no calls for Keane's head, from Town's support base, in contrast to other fans up and down the country, who have not been slow to turn against their managers.

Hopefully, the loyalty shown in Keane is now beginning to bear fruit, not least because he has always had a two-year plan to secure promotion back to the Premier League.

Town are unbeaten in 10 games, and will be hoping to stretch that to 11 at Scunthorpe United tomorrow.

Cardiff City boss Dave Jones is the Championship's longest serving manager. As of today, he has been at the helm for four years and 207 days, since his appointment in May, 2005.

Bristol City's Gary Johnson is second in the charts - he arrived at Ashton Gate in September, 2005.

Ex-Ipswich boss Jim Magilton became the latest manager to lose his job on Wednesday evening, following his departure from QPR.

Yesterday, former Portsmouth manager Paul Hart was appointed as Magilton's successor, with ex-Colchester United assistant manager Mick Harford returning to Loftus Road as his assistant.

IN FACTFILES BELOW

THE LONG-TERM

ONLY 12 Championship managers have survived from last season. Here they are:

1 Dave Jones (Cardiff), May, 2005

2 Gary Johnson (Bristol City), September, 2005

3 Sean O'Driscoll (Doncaster), September, 2006

4 Nigel Adkins (Scunthorpe), November, 2006

5 Neil Warnock (Crystal Palace), October, 2007

6 Alan Irvine (Preston), November, 2007

7 Kevin Blackwell (Sheffield United), February, 2008

8 Chris Coleman (Coventry City), February, 2008

9 Nigel Pearson (Leicester City), June, 2008 10 Billy Davies (Nottingham Forest), January, 2009

11 Nigel Clough (Derby County), January, 2009

12 ROY KEANE (Ipswich Town), April, 2009

*****Second Ipswich soccer fact-file******

NEW BOYS ON THE BLOCK

HALF the clubs in the Championship have changed their managers since the end of the last season. The dozen are:

13 Ian Holloway (Blackpool), May 21

14 Malky Mackay (Watford), June 15

15 Paulo Sousa (Swansea), June 23

16 Chris Houghton (Newcastle), June 29

17 Roberto Di Matteo (West Brom), June 30

18 Mark Robins (Barnsley), September 9

19 Gordon Strachan (Middlesbrough), October 26 20 Mark Cooper (Peterborough), November 14

21 Paul Mariner (Plymouth), December 10

22 Sean McAuley (Sheff Wed, caretaker), December 13

23 Brian McDermott (Reading, caretaker), December 16

24 Paul Hart (QPR), December 17