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FA Cup exits: Mancini and Souness among the Premier League managers who bowed out after bowing out

Roberto Mancini Man City Wigan May13

Rafa Benitez and Claudio Ranieri both find themselves under pressure this weekend and they wouldn’t be the first managers to lose their jobs after an FA Cup defeat.

Premier League clubs enter the FA Cup this weekend and that could spell bad news for two under-pressure bosses.
Everton's Rafa Benitez and Watford's Claudio Ranieri are both cup exits from the chop and both face ticky ties.

The Toffees, on the back of one win in 12, travel to Championship side Hull City, while Ranieri's struggling Watford are at cup holders Leicester City.

It is not out of the question that both bosses could be out of work on Monday morning. They wouldn't be the first to lose their jobs after FA Cup exits as Planet Sport finds out.

Mark Hughes (Stoke)

There were no celebrations from Hughes after his 200th game in charge of Stoke City in 2018 as it turned out to be his last.
League Two side Coventry City caused a huge third-round upset to sink the then-Premier League side and it signalled the end for Welshman Hughes.
The Sky Blues, backed by more than 14,000 fans at the Ricoh, won 2-1 thanks to goals from Jordan Willis and Jack Grimmer.
It was Stoke's third defeat on the bounce and sixth in eight, and with the club sitting in the relegation zone the board had seen enough.

Aitor Karanka (Middlesbrough)

Spaniard Karanka gained his managerial know-how at Real Madrid, having been assistant to Jose Mourinho in his homeland and he made a good fist of his first managerial role at Middlesbrough.

He was on Teesside for over three years and helped the club gain promotion into the top flight in 2016 after finishing as Championship runners-up.

The next season he led Boro to the last eight of the FA Cup where a 2-0 defeat to Manchester City proved to be his last match in charge.

He left Middlesbrough three points from safety and without a league win in 10 matches, having failed to score a goal in the last four of those.
Karanka had also had disagreements with players, fans and the board who said it was in the club's "best interests" to make the change.

Roberto Mancini (Man City)

Probably the most high-profile sacking following an FA Cup defeat goes to the man who led Italy to Euro 2020 glory last summer.

Mancini's Manchester City team faced off against huge underdogs Wigan Athletic in the 2014 final at Wembley. Bitter rivals Manchester United had already secured the Premier League title, but a win in the final was expected for City.

However, it never turned out that way as a Ben Watson header late in the game sealed a memorable cup win for the Latics.
Three days later, the man who guided City to their first Premier League title was sacked.

Walter Smith (Everton)

Everton have a history of sacking managers following FA Cup defeats, with Walter Smith paying the price in 2002.

Smith had been in charge of the Toffees for three seasons but with the club suffering financial difficulties, had yet to finish in the top half of the table.
His sacking came after a poor display against Middlesbrough in the FA Cup sixth round, which saw the Toffees, despite featuring Paul Gascoigne, succumb to a 3-0 defeat.

The Rangers icon was replaced by fellow Scot David Moyes, who certainly went on to have a successful time at Goodison Park, staying for an impressive 11 years.

Graeme Souness (Liverpool)

Souness' 33-month spell at Anfield saw him fail to restore the club's glory days. He did deliver them an FA Cup, though, so it's somewhat ironic that his last match in charge was in the same competition.

Although unbeaten in nine league matches, the FA Cup third-round replay defeat to second-tier Bristol City in January 1994 spelled the end for Souness.
Brian Tinnion scored the only goal of the game against the Premier League giants whose team featured names such as Ian Rush, John Barnes and Steve McManaman.

"After a great deal of soul searching I have reached the conclusion that the best thing for the club and I is that we should part company," announced Souness, who went on to manage Galatasaray, Benfica and Newcastle United but has now found a home in the Sky Sports studio.

Frank Lampard (Chelsea)

This one wasn't a defeat but maybe conceding a goal to Championship side Luton was what finally persuaded Roman Abramovich to pull the trigger.

After five Premier League defeats in eight, many had expected Lampard to be sacked in the run-up to the fourth-round clash in 2021.

However, he survived to lead the Blues out and masterminded a pretty unconvincing 3-1 win, courtesy of a Tammy Abraham hat-trick.

Less than 24 hours later, Abramovich was again wielding the axe.

Thomas Tuchel was brought in and it provided an inspired appointment, with the German helping Chelsea win the 2021 Champions League.

READ MORE: FA Cup tips: 14-time winners Arsenal look a big price, while longshots Millwall could go deep

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