REVEALED: 7 managers with a greater impact on performances than Solskjaer this season

The fabled new manager bounce is often pivotal to any team achieving its goal for the season and as far Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s appointment - initially on an interim basis - is concerned, it’s undoubtedly one that has paid off for Manchester United.

The Red Devils are now firmly ensconced in a battle for a top four spot, rather than struggling to cling onto sixth. While they could well still end in that position, there’s no question there has been a marked improvement in performances since Jose Mourinho was dismissed.

That said, with results and displays tailing off of late, there are now seven managerial appointments in Europe’s top five leagues to have seen a greater impact on their team’s WhoScored.com ratings since replacing their predecessor. United’s rating under the Norwegian, for reference, has jumped from 6.70 to 6.89 (.19 increase).

7. Francisco Rodriguez (SD Huesca) - Team rating increase +.21

Appointed in place of Leo Franco on October 9th, while Rodriguez has been unable to lift newly promoted Huesca from their position at the foot of the table in La Liga they are still in with a fighting chance of avoiding the drop. In 23 matches under the new boss the side are averaging a goal difference of -.39 compared to -1.37 in the eight games before his arrival, improving markedly from a defensive standpoint. Five sides have a worse goal difference than Huesca (-9) since Rodriguez’s appointment and six have picked up fewer points since the turn of the year.

6. Marco Baroni (Frosinone) - Team rating increase +.22

With just one win and eight points to their name upon Baroni’s appointment in mid December, Frosinone were only heading in one direction. The Serie A minnows remain in the drop zone as things stand but their points per game average of 0.5 from 16 matches under Moreno Longo has doubled in the 15 matches since. Defensively they have been much improved, with only eight teams conceding fewer goals in that time, and while bridging a seven point gap to safety with as many games remaining will likely prove impossible the team have proven they’ll make a real fight of it under Baroni. 

5. Brendan Rodgers (Leicester) - Team rating increase +.22

While it’s true that Rodgers has only been at the helm for the Foxes for five matches, and also that the fixture list has been kind to the Ulsterman, the former Liverpool and Celtic boss has already had a clear galvanising effect on the side. Goals per game have doubled (from 1.19 to 2.4) and Leicester are now averaging almost seven more shots per game (15.4) than their opponents to date. Accurate passes per game are up by over 20 per cent and completion from 77 per cent to 82. The team now sit in that all important seventh spot having been 12th when Claude Puel was sacked.

4. Gaizka Garitano (Athletic Club) - Team rating increase +.23

Replacing Eduardo Berizzo with Athletic sat in the relegation zone, with just one win from 14 matches, Garitano’s impact has been huge. The Basque outfit are now eighth and dreaming of a return to the Europa League, with only the big three in Spain winning more matches than Athletic’s nine (from 17 matches) under their new boss. Again, defensive improvements have been at the heart of the team’s renaissance, conceding a miserly 8.24 shots per game under the new regime and, as a result, just 12 goals.

3. Julien Stephan (Rennes) - Team rating increase +.24

With the club looking well off the race for a Europa League finish, Rennes parted ways Sabri Lamouchi and promoted B team coach Stephan. The 38-year-old has breathed some hope back into the side since but a top four finish still seems a distant hope. Only four teams have picked up more points in Ligue 1 than Rennes since the rookie coach’s appointment, with the club sitting 14th at the time.

2. Boris Schommers (Nuernberg) - Team rating increase +.25

Like Stephan, Schommers has stepped up into the first team coach position at Nuernberg and while he is still in the job on an interim basis as things stand, the 40-year-old is doing his chances of getting the role permanently no harm. Having ended a horrendous 20-game winless run in emphatic fashion against Augsburg, a point at Stuttgart last time out ensured that the promoted side have a chance of catching VfB and beating the drop. Despite a tough run of fixtures, including drawing with Dortmund and suffering one-goal defeats to European chasing Leipzig, Frankfurt and Hoffenheim, hope has been restored.

1. Leonardo Jardim (Monaco) - Team rating increase +.32

Having been replaced himself by Thierry Henry in October, Jardim was back in his old post within 105 days after the former Arsenal man had managed to take a hugely underperforming team backwards. Shots per game are up by 4.61 since the Portuguese’s return, boasting a +4 goal difference in his nine matches back at the club compared to -13 in 12 matches under Henry. Since a host of January arrivals the team’s possession stats have increased by 5.4 per cent - a substantial amount and last season’s runners up in Ligue 1 are doing the basics far better across the board.