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Billy McKinlay has been replaced as manager of Championship side Watford .
Whilst a managerial change is nothing out of the ordinary, that it comes just eight days after his appointment makes it extraordinary.
Perhaps even more bizarrely, it sees Watford move onto their fourth manager of the season. Giuseppe Sannino and Oscar Garcia already came before McKinlay this season. The latest manager is Slavisa Jokanovic.
Despite the incredibly short reign of the former Scotland international, incredibly it is by no-means the shortest seen in football. Among those collected here, one lasted just 10 minutes!
Check out our guide to the shortest managerial reigns in the gallery below...
Show all 25 1 /25The shortest managerial reigns in football The shortest managerial reigns in football Oscar Garcia (Watford) 27 days, 2014 Less than two weeks into his new job at Watford, Garcia was taken to hospital with chest pains. Less than a month after his appointment at Vicarage Road, Watford announced that Garcia had been forced to resign.
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The shortest managerial reigns in football Michael Appleton (Blackburn) 15 games, 67 days, 2013 Appleton left his previous job at Blackpool after only 65 days, and was to last just two days longer at Blackburn.
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The shortest managerial reigns in football Alex McLeish (Nottingham Forest) 7 games, 41 days, 2012 It is thought the reason behind McLeish's decision to leave Forest was interference from the club's Kuwaiti owners, the Al-Hasawi family, in team affairs. The Scot was left frustrated after missing out on several targets during the transfer window - most notably Peterborough winger George Boyd whose move to the east midlands was scuppered by a failed eye test
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The shortest managerial reigns in football Henning Berg (Blackburn) 10 games, 57 days, 2012 After replacing Steve Kean (a manager many said had been given too much time) Berg managed to win just one game of his 10 in charge before being shown the door.
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The shortest managerial reigns in football Gian Piero Gasperini (Inter Milan) 5 games 2010 In charge for three months and three league games, Gasperini was fired after a slow start to the season, joining the ever growing list of departees from Inter Milan.
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The shortest managerial reigns in football Dave Penney (Bristol Rovers) 13 matches 2011 Dave Penney could record just two wins during his 13 game reign. Not even two months into the job, he was out the door.
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The shortest managerial reigns in football Leroy Rosenior (Torquay) 10 minutes 2007 The former Merthyr boss had just been given the job at Plainmoor, but the club was in the process of being taken over. Before the ink was dry, a local consortium completed the purchase and Paul Buckle was appointed manager. 'It was something that I knew was going to happen but I didn't think it was going to happen after 10 minutes,' Rosenior was quoted as saying at the time.
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The shortest managerial reigns in football Bill Lambton (Scunthorpe) 3 days 1959 In December 1958, Lambton became Leeds manager but left after four months. That, however, seems an age when compared to his next job at Scunthorpe.
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The shortest managerial reigns in football Dave Bassett (Crystal Palace) 4 days, 1984 Though Bassett never actually signed his contract, he was still referred to as Palace boss before having a change of heart and returning to Wimbledon.
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The shortest managerial reigns in football Jorg Berger (Armenia Bielefled) 5 days, 2009 Berger was brought in for one game to try and save Arminia Bielefeld from relegation to the German Bundesliga 2. When the 64-year-old was unable to work his magic, he was shown the door.
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The shortest managerial reigns in football Jack Crompton (Luton) 7 days 1962 Goalkeeper for Manchester United between 1944 and 1956. When he retired, he became a trainer at United. Gave managing a go with Luton Town, but the experiment only lasted a week, Crompton deciding that his heart lay with United.
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The shortest managerial reigns in football Kevin Cullis (Swansea) 7 days, 1996 Cullis had arrived at the Vetch (pictured) with little fanfare and a reputation as a good PE teacher. His reign lasted two games in which the Swans conceded five goals.
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The shortest managerial reigns in football Martin Ling - (Cambridge United) 9 days, 2009 The former Wrexham boss was taken on by Cambridge United in the summer of 2009. Before a ball had been kicked, however, he had headed for the exit, citing irreconcilable differences with the chairman. But then a curious twist: 16 days later, Ling returned and remained manager until 2011. Not so irreconcilable, then.
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The shortest managerial reigns in football Bryan Gunn (Norwich) 2 matches 2010 Former Norwich goalkeeping legend Bryan Gunn was sacked after just two games in charge. Given the job on a full time basis in the summer, a 7-1 opening day defeat didn't help his cause. A few days later Norwich won 4-0 in the Carling Cup. But, for some reason, it wasn't enough to save him.
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The shortest managerial reigns in football Micky Adams (Swansea) 13 days, 1997 Swansea's second feature in the top ten. Adams walked out after saying he had not been told the truth about his transfer kitty.
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The shortest managerial reigns in football Luigi del Neri - (Porto) 15 days, 2004 Appointed to replace Jose Mourinho at Porto. Didn't even get a chance to drink from the poison chalice before he was offloaded. The official reason given by the club was 'poor time-keeping'.
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The shortest managerial reigns in football Jimy McIlroy (Bolton) 18 Days, 1970 A Burnley legend, McIlroy went on to manage Oldham for two years when his playing career had finished. It was on the back of that experience that he became Bolton manager for two and a half weeks. The experience must have been rather harrowing: after Bolton, McIlroy decided to retire from football altogether.
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The shortest managerial reigns in football Jose Antonio Camacho (Real Madrid) 23 days, 1998 Former Real full-back Camacho barely had time to get comfy in the office of Los Merengues when he fell out with the then president Lorenzo Sanz.
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The shortest managerial reigns in football Tommy Docherty (QPR) 28 days 1968 An illustrious managerial career - won the FA Cup with Manchester United, the League Cup with Chelsea - also contained a few duds. After a successful spell at Chelsea, Docherty joined QPR in 1968 but lasted only 28 days. Docherty has the dubious honour of being able to be included in this list twice: he was appointed QPR manager again in 1979, sacked almost immediately and then reinstated after just nine days away.
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The shortest managerial reigns in football Paul Hart (QPR) 5 matches 2010 Hart walked before he was pushed under the crazy reign of Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore at Loftus Road. It was his second departure of the season, having left Portsmouth after a short stint at the helm on the south coast.
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The shortest managerial reigns in football teve Coppell (Manchester City) 33 days, 1996 Took the job with Manchester City after success in his first managerial post at Crystal Palace, but resigned just over a month later, citing as his reason stress caused by the job: 'I'm not ashamed to admit that I have suffered for some time from huge pressure I have imposed upon myself'. Coppell's resignation means his stay at the club is the shortest of any City manager to date.
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The shortest managerial reigns in football Paul Gascoigne (Kettering Town) 39 days 2005 Amid much fanfare, the troubled England legend was unveiled as manager of Kettering Town. Yet just a few weeks later, the 'sooted' Gazza was dismissed, with the board blaming his alcohol problems - something Gascoigne refutes. Gazza appeared to make a return to management in 2010 with Garforth Town, although he never actually attended any matches. A mix-up with the announcement of his appointment was blamed for the confusion.
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The shortest managerial reigns in football Les Reed (Charlton) 41 days, 2006 In the great Charlton crash from Premiership regulars to League football fodder, Reed's appointment was the most bizarre. Even though he had been working at the FA, he had never been a number one, and it showed. Reed was forced to depart on Christmas Eve with the club seven points adrift of safety.
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The shortest managerial reigns in football Brian Clough - (Leeds) 44 days, 1974 The most infamous of short managerial reigns, immortalised in a hit book and film. Clough turned up and nobody liked him - not such a surprise as he spent most of his time at Derby criticising Leeds. The players demanded he went and Clough found himself out on his ear.
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The shortest managerial reigns in football Jock Stein - (Leeds) 44 days 1978 A glittering managerial career: the first British manager to win the European Cup, nine league championships with Celtic, Guided Scotland to two World Cups. Yet still room for a blip. Stein joined Leeds in 1978 after 13 successful years at Celtic. Lasted only 44 days before resigning to become Scotland manager.
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