Tony Pulis column: What Roberto de Zerbi needs to do to turn Tottenham around

Nearly 40% of clubs in England’s top four divisions of men’s football have changed managers this season, with a quarter of those teams making more than one change.

With these stats still this high, I’m sure people outside the game are curious about the process of appointing a manager.

I have never presented before a president or board of directors during any interview process in my time.

What often sealed the deal was your management record and your relative success with the relevant budgets you were given.

Today, all of this has changed. I’m told many managers and coaches pay to have these presentations professionally prepared for them.

But before you get to this stage, club owners and presidents will rely on their sporting directors and general managers to draw up a list of names.

As I have mentioned in previous articles about the lack of opportunities for English managers, while there are many foreign owners in our game, there are also many foreign sporting directors, so it is not surprising that they appoint managers and coaches they know.

Additionally, the managers who assist the club owners in purchasing the club will often have a big say in who the sporting director will be.

I am sure that players will similarly flow to some clubs and I am afraid that all this affects managers and coaches who are not part of this country, of that network.

Academy coaches from top clubs find their way through the system, I’m sure their contact with the clubs’ young players is part of their appeal.

This is certainly a path into management that is worth pursuing, but I’m sure former professionals who follow this path will quickly learn the fundamental difference between managing at academy level and being in charge of a club’s first team.

Unlike academy football, which is about development, first-team football is about winning.

You will be evaluated based on your outcome each week, and no matter what philosophy you use, the fan base and those above you will react accordingly.