SAM Allardyce has admitted modern-day management is one constant battle against the sack.
Four days after Sir Alex Ferguson was booed by his own supporters despite delivering 16 major trophies to Manchester United, Allardyce takes Bolton on their first European adventure.
For a club slumped in the First Division and heading nowhere fast when Allardyce took charge in 1999, the achievement marks yet another high in an astonishing rise to prominence.
Yet Allardyce knows that, like Ferguson, should fortunes turn, past glories will not insulate him against the harsh realities of life. Ultimately, he feels, all managers risk losing their jobs if they do not produce results.
"I have always said what drives me on is what is around the corner, and that is the sack," said Allardyce.
"It seems unfair but that is what happens to us all if we do not do well, whether you are Alex Ferguson, Sam Allardyce or Jose Mourinho.
"If you do not get the results you are paid to get, it is inevitable people will turn against you."
Dissent against Allardyce has been rare.
He did face some grumblings of discontent last season when Bolton picked up just two points in a nine-game spell, but chairman Phil Gartside and major shareholder Eddie Lewis kept faith with their man and were rewarded with a magnificent sixth-placed finish.
"The owners gave me great backing last year because even when I lost six on the trot, I knew my job was not under threat," he said.
"I really appreciated it and I would like to think I have paid them back handsomely since then.
"Maybe I am fortunate because I have never really been booed anywhere I have managed, but I suppose it will come sometime."
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