League One sack race: Ex-Premier League star could be next to be dismissed after Darren Moore
Barnsley boss Conor Hourihane and Rotherham United manager Matt Hamshaw each look most likely to be sacked next in League One following Darren Moore’s Port Vale exit.
Moore was sacked on Sunday with Port Vale sitting at the bottom of the third tier following automatic promotion from League Two last season.
The Valiants had high hopes for this campaign after his stellar job last term, but results had not been good enough and their owners pulled the trigger after a crushing 5-0 loss to Huddersfield Town.
Liam Ridgewell is in contention to take over at Vale Park, as revealed by Football Insider, but they may not be the only League One team searching for a new boss soon.
Hourihane and Hamshaw are under pressure at Barnsley and Rotherham respectively
Former Aston Villa midfielder Hourihane was handed the permanent role as Barnsley boss in April, following a good string of results in interim charge after Darrell Clarke’s sacking.
He won League One’s Manager of the Month award in November as the Tykes went three league games unbeaten, but is now under pressure just a month later amid some poor recent form.
Their results before November had not been good enough, and they have reverted to type in recent weeks, with just one win in their last six third-tier outings.
Three consecutive defeats have left them sat 15th in the table, but things could be even worse, as Rotherham have found out this season.
Hamshaw similarly became Rotherham‘s manager on a full-time basis in April after a successful interim spell.
The Millers have won just six of their 23 league games so far in 2025-26, though, and have lost all of their last five league games, with their last third-tier victory coming on 8 November.
That dismal recent run has left them 22nd in League One, with the four teams outside of the relegation zone all having a game in hand.
Hourihane and Hamshaw are clearly both under real pressure to turn things around in charge of their respective clubs, and could both follow Moore in being sacked soon if they are unable to make improvements.
Who is in line to replace Moore at Port Vale?
Barnsley and Rotherham could soon join Vale in needing a new boss, and will surely be searching in similar areas for a potential appointment.
Darren Ferguson is the early favourite to be Vale’s new manager, after he left Peterborough in October following an ill-fated fourth spell in charge.
He comes in at 6/4 as the leading candidate, according to one major bookmaker, while ex-Northampton Town boss Jon Brady is deemed to be the second favourite for the position at odds of 5/1.
Matt Bloomfield follows at 6/1, with Mark Kennedy at 8/1 and Liam Manning up next at 10/1, and any of those out-of-work bosses could soon join Barnsley or Rotherham if a sack call is made.