The 2025/26 Premier League season kept us intrigued and engrossed until the last matchday, with European qualification and relegation still on the line.
Competitiveness peaked this season, with the league title being won on only 85 points with a game to go. Few teams improved their performances towards the business end, while others just fell into the abyss with no way back.
Along the way, we witnessed some remarkable managerial turnarounds that made a massive impact on the league positions. Here, we take a look at five managers and head coaches in the Premier League who had a significant influence on their team’s fortunes this season.
Promoted from the Championship this season, Leeds United were keen to maintain top-flight survival this season, especially given they were considered to go straight back down.
They went through an inconsistent start to the campaign, failing to manage a string of positive results. After four consecutive defeats by Gameweek 13, the Whites were sitting in the relegation zone in 18th place, and it felt like they would go down after all.
However, Daniel Farke and his men made an impressive turnaround, going seven games unbeaten and beating Chelsea and Crystal Palace along the way while managing fighting draws against Liverpool and Manchester United at home. Farke also led his side to a historic away win at Old Trafford after 45 years, while further wins in the last few games against Wolves, Burnley, and Brighton gave the team some breathing space as they moved up into 14th place with three games left to play.
Although Leeds failed to have a superb season like fellow promoted side Sunderland, who clinched European football on the final day of the season, there is no doubt Farke did an incredible job to keep Leeds in the top flight for at least one more season. With the money received from Premier League survival, the club can now strengthen and go again next season with an improved squad. Based on this turnaround, the Leeds management is also looking to tie down Daniel Farke to a long-term contract.
Michael Carrick came in as an interim at Manchester United after former head coach Ruben Amorim was sacked in January this year. At the time, United were sitting in sixth place, having recently drawn against relegation-bound Wolves and Leeds United. They had already been knocked out of both the domestic cups, which prompted the United management to take prompt action.
However, it wasn’t the consequence of the inconsistent and dull performances in the 2025/26 season; Amorim hadn’t been able to change things up in the 2024/25 season either after taking charge from Erik ten Hag in October 2024. United’s form went even further downhill as they finished the season in 15th place and lost the Europa League final to Tottenham Hotspur, marking a dismal finish for a club of their stature.
Carrick has been a United legend and understood both the situation and the sentiment of those in and around the club. He rejuvenated the squad and, within a span of a few games, had them playing attacking football. Within a month, United climbed up two spots to reach fourth in the table, resuscitating their hopes of Champions League qualification. Some of the big results they produced under Carrick were wins against Man City, Liverpool, and Aston Villa at home, and victories on the road over Arsenal and Chelsea.
United’s signings from last summer, Matheus Cunha, Benjamin Šeško, Bryan Mbeumo, along with the in-form Bruno Fernandes, looked dangerous and influential under Carrick. On the basis of the team’s improvement, Carrick has been handed a permanent contract to continue as the Man United head coach for a two-year duration, with an option to extend his stay for an additional year.
Although Man United were only playing one game a week under Carrick, it will be interesting to see what changes he brings to the squad over the summer and how he copes with multiple competitions. For now, though, we should give him immense credit for bringing Champions League nights back to Old Trafford after a horrendous previous season and turning around their form and playing style.
Andoni Iraola practically performed miracles at Bournemouth in the 2025/26 season with a modest transfer budget after losing key defensive players and suffering massive injuries.
Any manager would struggle after losing three of his starting defenders and his best attacking player in one season, but not Iraola. The Spaniard didn’t compromise on his tactical philosophy either, with his Bournemouth side playing the most attractive football in the league and going on to secure European qualification for the first time in the club’s history.
The South Coast side didn’t start the season well. Bournemouth suffered defeat to Liverpool in the opening fixture of the season in a six-goal thriller, where they came back from a 2–0 deficit to level the proceedings only to concede two more goals late on. Then, however, the Cherries went on an eight-game winning streak before losing 3–1 away to Manchester City. Iraola’s side lost momentum after that and went the next 11 league games without a win, including five draws and six defeats. This dismal streak saw them drop down to 15th place.
However, Bournemouth staged a miraculous comeback after their home defeat to Arsenal in Gameweek 20, going unbeaten in their next 18 league games, winning eight and drawing ten of them to climb up to sixth position on the final day. Some of the standout results from these 18 games were their 2–1 win at the Emirates against Arsenal, a 3–2 win at home against Liverpool, a 2–1 win away at Everton, a 2–1 win at St James’ Park, and a 3–0 win against Crystal Palace at home.
Iraola helped his side mount an incredible comeback with limited squad options and a new backline, managing much better than a few of the traditional Big Six clubs.
These performances didn’t go unnoticed, and as Iraola announced that he’d leave Bournemouth at the end of the season, big clubs came calling, and according to reports from the ever-reliable David Ornstein, Iraola is set to become the new head coach of Liverpool after they dismissed Arne Slot. It will be interesting to see how the Basque coach fares at such a storied club, though his three-year tenure at Bournemouth has undoubtedly been impressive, and Iraola’s big move to Anfield is more than deserved.
Young German manager Fabian Hürzeler exceeded expectations with the Seagulls, helping them qualify for the UEFA Conference League play-off stage for next season after a late surge of performances.
Brighton started the season inconsistently, failing to string together a run of positive results and losing a game after a win or a draw. After Gameweek 26, they were sitting in 14th place after two consecutive defeats and without a win in six games. However, Hürzeler was able to turn around their form in emphatic fashion. His side went on to win six of their next eight games, drawing one and losing one. This catapulted them to sixth place, with Europe in sight. If not for defeats in their last two league encounters, Brighton might have qualified for the Europa League.
Not much was expected from Hürzeler when he replaced Roberto De Zerbi at Brighton ahead of the 2024/25 season. His first season showed decent performances, and Brighton ended in the top half of the league table. This season, though, the league was more competitive, and while they ended up with fewer points than last season, they have qualified for Europe for only the second time in their history, having ascended into the top half with some impressive performances in the latter half of the season. Some of their big wins came against Liverpool, Newcastle United, and Chelsea this season.
From languishing in 14th place to improving the results at the business end is difficult, especially when a fair few of your key players are out injured. The season was challenging throughout, but Hürzeler managed to dig in and has been rewarded suitably for that. Following Brighton’s Conference League play-off stage qualification, Hürzeler was handed an improved contract in May that will keep him at the club until the end of 2028/29 season.
After the highs of the previous season, which saw Nottingham Forest finish seventh in the Premier League and qualify for Europe, the 2025/26 season started abysmally for the Tricky Trees as they continued to perform poorly and sacked two managers before Vítor Pereira brought a semblance of consistency and stability with positive results.
After winning the opening game of the season, Forest went nine games without a win with six defeats and three draws to fall to 19th place. They continued to flirt with danger until Pereira came on board in February 2026 as a replacement for Sean Dyche.
Pereira not only improved league results but also helped Forest reach the semi-finals of the Europa League. After taking charge, his team suffered two consecutive losses but then showed massive improvements, losing just once in the next ten fixtures while also drawing five and winning four to ultimately secure top-flight survival with a 16th-place finish. Their biggest results under Pereira included a 3–0 away win at Spurs, a 5–0 thumping of Sunderland on the road, and a 3–1 win over Chelsea at home.
While Forest looked set to be relegated for a majority of the season, Pereira rejuvenated the squad with confidence, belief, and trust, and the players paid him back with big performances in crucial games to avoid relegation to the Championship.
Pereira has done an incredible job with a decent squad at his disposal, and recent news suggest that he could be handed a new long-term contract ahead of the 2026/27 season. If he is supported by the club in retaining key players and adding quality to the squad, he can definitely improve Forest’s performances next season, and who knows, they could be in the reckoning for European football yet again.
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