Garry Birtles: Now there really is only one manager who can eat his cornflakes in peace

IF Nigel Adkins can be sacked, there is only one man in British football whose job is safe.

And the irony is that at least half a dozen managers are just waiting for Sir Alex Ferguson to retire.

In the meantime, the Manchester United boss must now be the only boss who can sip his morning cuppa without concern about whether today is going to be the day when he is sacked.

Adkins had steered Southampton up through two divisions. He was close to really establishing the Saints in the top flight.

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They had only lost two matches in 12 fixtures, for goodness sake. Yet still he was given the bullet.

If it was not for the Southampton fans, who you have to feel sorry for, you would almost want to see them fail, just as punishment for making such a stupid, misguided decision.

Chairman Nicola Cortese wielded the axe, before swiftly replacing Adkins with Mauricio Pochettino.

The Argentine does have a reasonable reputation in Spain, even if his previous job, at Espanyol, did not exactly go to plan.

But that is not the point. The fact is he should not have had a job to go to. It should still be Adkins in charge at Southampton.

When you look at some of the club owners now and the decisions they are prepared to make in search of instant success, it is truly disturbing.

So many of them are swayed by big names, rather than actual, solid achievements.

Adkins might have worked wonders, but you got the impression he was not a big enough name for them in the top flight.

At Blackburn, you have the Venky's, who have taken an established Premier League club and turned it into, well, a chaotic mess.

QPR, on a lesser scale, are going down a familiar route. What will happen to them, if they are relegated? How will they fund their wage bill in the Championship? You suspect it might be a struggle.

Ask Portsmouth, because they have been down a similar path. It is one that, in the near future, could lead them into League Two.

Forest, of course, are going through what looks to be a period of chaotic activity of their own, in recent weeks.

Hopefully things will settle down quickly.

And the key difference at the City Ground is that, in Alex McLeish, they have appointed a man who has been there and done it, when it comes to getting teams out of the Championship.

But, if he doesn't, he will certainly remain among the vast ranks of managers who will continue to nervously munch their corn flakes every morning.