JOE Royle one described football management as "second hand thrills."

That thrill factor has been in short supply this season with the axe falling faster than the executioner's blade.

Resignations, sackings and mutual consent are as much part of soccer's vocabulary now as million-pound transfers, mega-buck wages and Premiership goals.

Howard Wilkinson, Alan Ball, Ray Harford, Ray Wilkins and Kenny Dalglish have all paid the ultimate price since August.

In the Football League, managers are hired and fired faster than an Alan Shearer strike.

Steve Coppell was the latest and most disturbing. He resigned after five weeks in charge at Manchester City, unable to cope with the stress of revitalising the struggling First Division club.

Tormented Coppell, a tortured soul at the shock Manchester City press conference, claimed he just could not continue.

On medical advice, at just 41, he quit. Assistant Phil Neal - now in charge at Maine Road - painted a bleak picture of the pressures.

Neal said: "It had all seemed like a normal week to me. I never thought for a moment he was preparing to get out.

"When Steve made the announcement on Friday I was stunned, gobsmacked. Even when Steve said he had been to the doctors twice in the previous few days, it never registered.

"He has made a decision for the rest of his life. But after that I fear Steve Coppell may never go back into management."

Burnley's young boss Adrian Heath, at 35, is one of the youngest player-managers in the Football League.

Nine months into his career he appreciates the sort of crushing pressure which forced Coppell and Harford to throw the towel in.

"I can certainly see where Steve Coppell was coming from because the demands and pressures are immense," he said.

"I felt genuinely sad for him. He looked ill didn't he. "The demands of the job are far harder than people could ever dream of. There are constant demands on you. It's a 24-hour job.

"A lot of it is down to time and you don't get time in this game do you?

"I've got a two and a half year contract at Burnley.

"At the end of the day if people don't see the club is progressing or getting any better I'll have to move on. I'm honest enough with myself to know that.

"There are so many factors to handle. There are the pressures of getting a result, looking after the problems of 30 professionals and the every-day involvement with the club.

"I woke up in the middle of the night the other week. The missus said: 'What are you doing'?' I replied: 'I'm just going to get a pen and paper.' It was three o'clock in the morning and I'd just had an idea for the next day.

"I know I'm not the only one who does that. You never switch off. It's a demanding task. "Some people may think that the pressure is greater at the top. That might be the case in terms of more people watching. But the pressure is still on to get the results, at whatever level you manage."

Heath - who tasted Spanish football with Espanol - believes we should learn from the continent where managers delegate their duties more and have less of a work-load than their British counterparts.

"I think the role of a manager in this country needs to be re-defined," he added. "There is just too much on the plate of a manager.

"A lot of the everyday tasks should be delegated. That happens abroad where there are specialist people for certain roles at the club.

"I love the job, don't get me wrong," added Heath. "I'm new to the job and I'm enjoying every minute. I want to be as successful at management as I was as a player. "It's totally different from playing. For instance, after the defeat at York I had a nightmare weekend.

"As a manager I couldn't understand why my players were playing that poorly.

"It's sometimes hard to think about anything else when you've had a bad result. It can take over. You drive home and think about the game.

"You go out for a meal or a drink and think about the game. People are talking to you but your mind is elsewhere. That's the hardship of the job. It consumes you.

"As a player you probably get the result out of your system by Sunday morning. It's not your problem anymore. But it's different for the manager.

"Football is my life. I want my players to be successful and earn loads of money. But every manager knows the price they will pay if you do not deliver success."

League Managers Association chief John Barnwell said: "I'm surprised more managers don't come to me.

"The job follows them 24 hours a day and the demands are unbearable."

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