THE CONTINGENCY PLAN - WHO WOULD THE MAGPIES LOOK TO IF McCLAREN WAS AXED?

This season has been nothing short of ghastly. After the empty promises of Mike Ashley, the Geordies find themselves embroiled in yet another relegation dogfight. It would be fair to say that the appointment of Steve McClaren was rather “uninspiring.”

However, surely it wouldn’t be bad as having John Carver continuing the reigns? The decent performance and 1-0 win over West Bromwich Albion last weekend resulted in Newcastle climbing out of the bottom three and into 17th. A slight sigh of relief, but the Geordies will know fully well that another lowly performance - like the one we saw at Goodison Park - and it’ll be another scrap to climb out.

McClaren can count himself fortunate to still be the Head Coach of Newcastle United. “Judge me after 12 games,” was the initial plea from the former England manager. 25 league games in, and there’s nothing to suggest that McClaren is the right man for the job. Despite a good cup-run being one of the main priorities, the Toon Army were knocked out early in both the domestic cup competitions. McClaren’s repetitive attitude of “staying/being positive,” regardless of the inept performances, has become a bit of an insult.

Another set of bad performances and defeats would heap further pressure on the board for McClaren to be sacked. As per previous trends, it would barely be surprising if the Magpies have yet to draw up a contingency plan: the departures of Keegan, Carroll and Pardew without adequate replacements springs to mind. Nevertheless, here we take a look at six potential alternatives should McClaren face the axe:

Brendan Rodgers

Following the departure of Kenny Dalglish, Liverpool appointed Brendan Rodgers from Swansea. The former Chelsea reserve team manager impressed during his time at the Welsh club, winning promotion to the Premier League in 2011. Rodgers caught the attention of both the media and pundits, after Swansea’s style of intuitive flair and determination comfortably secured their Premier League status.

At Liverpool, the Kop witnessed some breathtaking attacking football. He made the deadly partnership of Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suárez work effortlessly. Raheem Sterling, under the guardianship of Rodgers, broke into the scene as Liverpool infamously let slip the Premier League title in season 2013-14.

Rodgers was sacked by Liverpool this season after a poor start, and is now a free agent. An extremely talented manager – arguably not so astute defensively - but has a real eye for attacking football. He also has experience in working under transfer restrictions (Liverpool’s transfer committee), which of course bodes well with working under Mike Ashley.

David Moyes

The 52-year-old Glaswegian’s managerial record will mostly be revered for his work at Goodison Park. He spent a solid 11 years in Merseyside, bringing stability and European football, including a short-stint in the Champions League. During his time at Everton, Moyes demonstrated that he could work under a limited budget and still bring in relative success – coming close to winning the FA Cup in 2009, only to be narrowly beaten by Chelsea.

A no-nonsense manager, Moyes has also had his fair share of public spats, most notably with Wayne Rooney and Toffees’ favourite Duncan Ferguson. However, he left Everton in a great position to take up the reigns at Old Trafford.

It was always going to be difficult for anyone to take control of Manchester United following Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement. The accumulation of poor performances, fan pressure and the media heavily criticising and questioning Moyes’ credibility, meant that the writing was on the wall. After only being at the club for 10 months, Moyes was sacked and left the club in 7th place.

With his reputation somewhat dented, Moyes returned to management with Spanish side Real Sociedad. He steered the club away from relegation and famously beat Barcelona 1-0. However, after a poor start the following season, he was dismissed by the San Sebastián club.

Michael Laudrup

Another former Swansea City manager, Michael Laudrup’s first Premier League game came away to QPR where they won 5-0. Swansea continued their fantastic form, and the former Barcelona midfielder led the Welsh side to their first-ever major cup final. Swansea ran out 5-0 winners against Bradford City in the League Cup, and finished the season in 9th.

The following season, and after a run of poor form, Laudrup was surprisingly sacked by Swansea. He returned to management with Qatari outfit Lekhwiya, and in his first season he won the league and domestic cup – doing the double for the first time in Lekhwiya’s history. He opted against a contract extension, and now remains a free agent.

Laudrup learnt his coaching trade from former Denmark manager Morten Olsen. His offensive 4-2-3-1 formation, with pacey wingers was well received in La Liga as he helped Getafe reach the Copa Del Rey final and Quarter-Finals of the Europa League. The same philosophy was also used to help Real Mallorca avoid the drop.

Frank De Boer

It would take something special to lure Frank De Boer to St. James’ Park. However, the 45-year-old has previously spoken positively about Newcastle United after being linked with the job. Currently, De Boer has won 4 successive Eredivisie titles with Ajax – the first manager to ever achieve this in the Dutch league.

The former Netherlands captain has a huge winning percentage of 59.22. But, they started this season off with a huge setback after being knocked out of the Champions League qualifiers against Rapid Vienna. De Boer’s men were also knocked-out of the KNVB Cup (Dutch Cup) in the 3rd round against arch-rivals Feyenoord. However, the Amsterdam club have recuperated and find themselves 2nd in the Eredivisie, 1 point off PSV Eindhoven.

This season could be his last at Ajax, and a host of clubs will be queuing up for him.

Christophe Galtier

It is understood that Graham Carr is a keen admirer of the Saint-Étienne manager. Galtier has done a terrific job for Les Verts since taking control in 2009. He boasts an impressive record for the club; Galtier has turned them from relegation contenders to European contenders with a rather small budget. The former Lille and Marseille defender guided Saint-Étienne to the French League Cup final in 2012-13, where they beat Rennes 1-0 in the final.

Under Galtier, Saint-Étienne have finished in the top-5 in their last three Ligue 1 campaigns. They currently lie in 4th, joint 3rd with Ben Arfa’s OGC Nice.

Jorge Sampaoli

Now, this is a long-shot, but someone I personally like. Sampaoli has done an incredible job for Chile. Some eye-catching performances in the 2014 World Cup, Sampaoli’s men were unfortunate to be knocked out on penalties in the Round of 16 against Brazil.

The Argentinian then led Chile to victory in the Copa América last year – beating the country of his birth, Argentina, 4-1 on penalties. Highly thought of in South America, the 55-year-old has yet to test himself in Europe. However, his achievements have not gone unnoticed; he won the 2015 South American Coach of the Year award, and came 3rd in FIFA’s 2015 World Coach of the Year award – behind Josep Guardiola and Luis Enrique.

Sampaoli resigned from his position as manager of Chile last month and has been linked with Chelsea and most recently Swansea, before the Swans appointed Francesco Guidolin. A great leader and coach, who has had huge success in South America with a win-rate of almost 58%, Sampaoli is eager to exercise his skills in Europe. Should Ashley give Charnley the nod to wield the axe on McClaren, it is without a doubt that the former Chile manager would be a superb coup.