List of longest managerial reigns in association football

The longest managerial reign in association football belongs to Englishman Jimmy Davies who was manager of Waterloo Dock for 50 years. Second to this, Fred Everiss was manager of Football League team West Bromwich Albion for over 45 years, starting his reign in 1902 and ending when he retired in 1948. The longest post-war reign belongs to Frenchman Guy Roux, who managed Auxerre in three separate reigns totalling 44 years, taking them from France's fifth division to become Division 1 champions in 1996.

Managerial reigns in football have decreased since the 1960s, and by 2015, the average spell in England's top four divisions was 1.23 years. Managers such as Pep Guardiola and Béla Guttmann have been proponents of a "three-year rule", as has football journalist and author Jonathan Wilson, who writes that managers can succumb to a "fatalistic idealism" beyond this period, describing it as similar to a Greek tragedy.

Longest reigns

In the early decades of organised football, team selection was often conducted by committee among the club directors, with an appointed 'secretary-manager' dealing with player contracts and other administrative tasks, assisted by 'trainers' dealing with coaching and fitness matters. As the secretary role was largely clerical and often occupied by one of the directors, they tended to remain in post for many years regardless of results in the short term. Until after World War I, some clubs never had a manager by name.

As demands and expectations on officials increased both on and off the field, gradually specialist roles became commonplace, and by the end of the 1930s, it was common for clubs in the British Isles to have an official manager as a figurehead dealing with most or all team matters, but with less long-term job security than the secretary-managers of old. Elsewhere, the separation between the office and pitchside functions persisted: the head coach in charge of training and match tactics became increasingly respected and prominent, but meanwhile while a figure closer to the ownership in the role of general manager, sporting director or director of football maintained control over financial and commercial aspects, with the levels of influence and balance of power between the coach and director varying between clubs and nations. As in the earlier era, the director would often have a tenure of several years to oversee the overall progress of the club, while the head coach would typically keep their job only for as long as the on-field results were positive.

For the purpose of this list, a separation has been made between pre-World War II reigns, which includes many secretary-managers, and the period after the conflict ended when regular competitions resumed in most countries, and longer managerial/head coach appointments became far less commonplace. For those whose terms spanned World War II, they have been placed in the section covering the majority of their reign. Long serving head coaches in international football are also recorded separately below.

Clubs

Pre-1946

• George Ramsay was secretary-manager of Aston Villa from 1884 to 1926, during which time he established Villa as the most successful club in England.
• Willie Maley was manager of Celtic from 1897 to 1940.
• John Nicholson was secretary-manager of Sheffield United from 1899 to 1932.
• Bill Struth was the Rangers manager from 1920 to 1954.

Longest managerial reigns (pre-1946)

Rank	Manager	Club	From	To	Length	Reference
1	Fred Everiss	West Bromwich Albion	1 August 1902	31 May 1948	45 years, 304 days
2	Willie Maley	Celtic	1 September 1897	1 February 1940	42 years, 153 days
3	George Ramsay	Aston Villa	1 August 1884	31 May 1926	41 years, 303 days
4	Jack Addenbrooke	Wolverhampton Wanderers	1 August 1885	1 June 1922	36 years, 304 days
5	John Hunter	Motherwell	30 April 1911	1 May 1946	35 years, 1 day
6	Frank Watt	Newcastle United	1 August 1895	1 January 1930	34 years, 153 days
7	Bill Struth	Rangers	20 May 1920	15 June 1954	34 years, 26 days
8	John Nicholson	Sheffield United	1 May 1899	1 April 1932	32 years, 336 days
9	Sam Allen	Swindon Town	1 July 1902	1 April 1933	30 years, 274 days
10	Syd King	West Ham United	1 April 1902	1 November 1932	30 years, 214 days
11	Arthur Dickinson	Sheffield Wednesday	1 August 1891	31 May 1920	28 years, 304 days
12	Bob Jack	Plymouth Argyle	1 August 1910	1 April 1938	27 years, 243 days
13	David Calderhead	Chelsea	1 August 1907	1 June 1933	25 years, 304 days
14	Bob Cochrane	Greenock Morton	15 August 1908	21 April 1934	25 years, 249 days
15	George Easton	Partick Thistle	15 August 1903	1 April 1929	25 years, 229 days
16	Johnny Madden	Slavia Prague	15 February 1905	1 June 1930	25 years, 106 days
17	Charles Foweraker	Bolton Wanderers	1 July 1919	1 August 1944	25 years, 31 days
18	Bob Masters	Nottingham Forest	1 August 1912	31 May 1935	22 years, 303 days
19	Bob Kyle	Sunderland	1 August 1905	5 May 1928	22 years, 278 days
20	Harry Curtis	Brentford	1 May 1926	1 February 1949	22 years, 276 days
21	Alfred Jones	Birmingham City	1 August 1892	31 May 1908	22 years, 276 days
22	Fred Stewart	Cardiff City	1 May 1911	1 May 1933	22 years, 0 days
23	Willie Nicol	Falkirk	16 August 1902	9 February 1924	21 years, 177 days
24	William Wilton	Rangers	19 August 1899	2 May 1920	20 years, 257 days
25	Willie McAndrew	Hamilton Academical	3 October 1925	26 January 1946	20 years, 115 days
26	Teddy Davison	Sheffield United	1 June 1932	1 August 1952	20 years, 61 days
27	Jimmy Philip	Aberdeen	20 August 1904	19 April 1924	19 years, 243 days
28	Bob McGlashan	Arbroath	1 June 1927	1 June 1946	19 years, 0 days
29	Tom Watson	Liverpool	26 July 1896	16 May 1915	18 years, 294 days
30	Edmund Goodman	Crystal Palace	1 April 1907	1 November 1925	18 years, 214 days
31	Hugh Spence	Kilmarnock	15 August 1919	11 December 1937	18 years, 118 days
32	Charlie Paynter	West Ham United	1 November 1932	1 August 1950	17 years, 273 days
33	Donald Turner	Partick Thistle	10 August 1929	3 May 1947	17 years, 266 days
34	Cosme Damião	Benfica	17 October 1908	28 March 1926	17 years, 162 days
35	Sandy Paterson	Cowdenbeath	22 December 1906	24 April 1924	17 years, 124 days
36	Will Cuff	Everton	1 August 1901	31 May 1918	16 years, 303 days
37	Frank Buckley	Wolverhampton Wanderers	1 July 1927	31 March 1944	16 years, 274 days
38	Jimmy Methven	Derby County	1 August 1906	30 June 1922	15 years, 333 days
39	Thomas H. McIntosh	Everton	1 August 1919	31 May 1935	15 years, 303 days
40	Harry Kent	Watford	1 August 1910	31 May 1926	15 years, 303 days
41	George Jobey	Derby County	1 August 1925	1 May 1941	15 years, 273 days
42	Peter O'Rourke	Bradford City	1 November 1905	30 June 1921	15 years, 241 days
43	Willie McCartney	Heart of Midlothian	22 November 1919	27 April 1935	15 years, 156 days
44	Elisha Scott	Belfast Celtic	1 May 1934	30 May 1949	15 years, 29 days
45	Tully Craig	Falkirk	27 April 1935	1 May 1950	15 years, 4 days
46	George Kay	Liverpool	1 May 1936	28 February 1951	14 years, 303 days
47	Dionys Schönecker	Rapid Wien	1 September 1910	30 June 1925	14 years, 302 days
48	Wilf Wild	Manchester City	1 March 1932	1 November 1946	14 years, 245 days
49	John Haworth	Burnley	31 July 1910	4 December 1924	14 years, 183 days
50	Dan McMichael	Hibernian	20 August 1904	1 February 1919	14 years, 165 days
51	Peter McWilliam	Tottenham Hotspur	1 January 1913	1 February 1927	14 years, 31 days

Post-1946

• Guy Roux managed Auxerre for over 43 years in total, his longest concurrent reign being 36 years long
• Alex Ferguson managed Manchester United for 26 years, the longest reign in post-war English top-flight football
• Arsène Wenger was manager of Arsenal for 22 seasons
• Francky Dury managed Zultse VV and their successor Zulte Waregem for a combined 28 years across three spells

Longest managerial reigns (post-1946)

Rank	Manager	Club	From	To	Length	Reference
1	Guy Roux	Auxerre	1 July 1964	30 June 2000	35 years, 365 days
2	Ronnie McFall	Portadown	1 December 1986	5 March 2016	29 years, 95 days
3	Alex Ferguson	Manchester United	6 November 1986	19 May 2013	26 years, 194 days
4	Michel Le Millinaire	Laval	1 July 1968	27 October 1992	24 years, 118 days
5	Dario Gradi	Crewe Alexandra	9 June 1983	1 July 2007	24 years, 22 days
6	Mickey Evans	Caersws	1 August 1983	1 June 2007	23 years, 304 days
7	Matt Busby	Manchester United	1 October 1945	4 June 1969	23 years, 246 days
8	Jimmy Seed	Charlton Athletic	16 May 1933	1 October 1956	23 years, 138 days
9	Joe Smith	Blackpool	19 August 1935	30 April 1958	22 years, 254 days
10	Arsène Wenger	Arsenal	1 October 1996	13 May 2018	21 years, 224 days
11	Jim McLean	Dundee United	6 December 1971	15 May 1993	21 years, 160 days
12	Bruno Luzi	Chambly	1 July 2001	2 April 2022	20 years, 275 days
13	Silviu Ploeșteanu	FC Brașov	10 July 1948	23 August 1968	20 years, 44 days
14	Jimmy McGrory	Celtic	11 August 1945	6 March 1965	19 years, 207 days
15	Stephen Baxter	Crusaders	23 February 2005	17 July 2024	19 years, 145 days
16	Paddy Travers	Clyde	27 November 1937	28 April 1956	18 years, 153 days
17	Brian Clough	Nottingham Forest	3 January 1975	8 May 1993	18 years, 125 days
18	Frank Schmidt	Heidenheim	17 September 2007	Present	18 years, 91 days
19	Ted Bates	Southampton	1 September 1955	18 November 1973	18 years, 78 days
20	Bill Murray	Sunderland	1 April 1939	1 June 1957	18 years, 61 days
21	Gurban Gurbanov	Qarabağ	4 August 2008	Present	17 years, 135 days
22	Eddie Hunter	Queen's Park	30 April 1979	10 December 1994	17 years, 124 days
23	Dave Halliday	Aberdeen	25 December 1937	23 April 1955	17 years, 119 days
24	David Jeffrey	Linfield	4 January 1997	30 April 2014	17 years, 116 days
25	Bert Henderson	Arbroath	6 October 1962	19 January 1980	17 years, 105 days
26	Michael Anhaeuser	Charleston Battery	1 September 2004	1 November 2021	17 years, 61 days
27	Vegard Hansen	Mjøndalen	10 October 2005	18 August 2022	16 years, 312 days
28	Bill Ridding	Bolton Wanderers	1 October 1951	1 August 1968	16 years, 305 days
29	Tony Waddington	Stoke City	1 June 1960	22 March 1977	16 years, 294 days
30	Simon Weaver	Harrogate Town	20 May 2009	Present	16 years, 211 days
31	Eric Taylor	Sheffield Wednesday	1 April 1942	31 July 1958	16 years, 121 days
32	Stan Cullis	Wolverhampton Wanderers	1 June 1948	1 August 1964	16 years, 61 days
33	Iurii Hodîchin	Dinamo Bender	1 January 1999	1 January 2015	16 years, 0 days
34	José Arribas	Nantes	14 July 1960	30 June 1976	15 years, 352 days
35	Francky Dury	Zultse VV / Zulte Waregem	1 July 1994	9 June 2010	15 years, 343 days
36	Volker Finke	Freiburg	1 July 1991	27 May 2007	15 years, 330 days
37	Bill Nicholson	Tottenham Hotspur	11 October 1958	29 August 1974	15 years, 322 days
38	Peter Vermes	Sporting Kansas City	4 August 2009	31 March 2025	15 years, 239 days
39	Bert Herdman	Raith Rovers	23 February 1946	14 October 1961	15 years, 233 days
40	Tommy Walker	Heart of Midlothian	17 February 1951	24 September 1966	15 years, 219 days
41	Jimmy Davies	Greenock Morton	28 October 1939	29 January 1955	15 years, 93 days
42	John Rudge	Port Vale	5 December 1983	18 January 1999	15 years, 44 days
43	Pablo Vicó	Club Atlético Brown	21 March 2009	3 May 2024	15 years, 43 days
44	Jimmy McKinnell Jr.	Queen of the South	20 April 1946	29 April 1961	15 years, 9 days
45	Eugène Gerards	OFI	1 July 1985	30 June 2000	14 years, 365 days
46	John Lyall	West Ham United	16 August 1974	5 June 1989	14 years, 293 days
47	Bill Shankly	Liverpool	14 December 1959	12 July 1974	14 years, 210 days
48	Otto Rehhagel	Werder Bremen	2 April 1981	30 June 1995	14 years, 89 days
49	Diego Simeone	Atlético Madrid	23 November 2011	Present	14 years, 24 days
50	Thomas Schaaf	Werder Bremen	10 May 1999	18 May 2013	14 years, 8 days

National teams

Longest managerial reigns in international football

Rank	Manager	National team	From	To	Length	Reference
1	Guillermo Stábile	Argentina	13 August 1939	15 June 1958	18 years, 306 days
2	Vittorio Pozzo	Italy	1 December 1929	5 August 1948	18 years, 248 days
3	Mohammad Anwar Elahee	Mauritius	1 January 1970	1 January 1988	18 years, 0 days
4	Hugo Meisl	Austria	5 October 1919	17 February 1937	17 years, 135 days
5	Walter Winterbottom	England	28 September 1946	21 November 1962	16 years, 54 days
6	Koldo Álvarez	Andorra	2 February 2010	Present	15 years, 318 days
7	Paul Philipp	Luxembourg	25 September 1985	10 June 2001	15 years, 258 days
8	Óscar Tabárez	Uruguay	7 March 2006	19 November 2021	15 years, 257 days
9	John Pettersson	Sweden	26 March 1921	27 September 1936	15 years, 185 days
10	Gaston Barreau	France	7 December 1930	19 May 1946	15 years, 163 days
11	Morten Olsen	Denmark	1 July 2000	17 November 2015	15 years, 139 days
12	Bob Glendenning	Netherlands	15 March 1925	21 April 1940	15 years, 37 days
13	Luc Holtz	Luxembourg	4 August 2010	11 August 2025	15 years, 7 days
14	Giampaolo Mazza	San Marino	10 October 1998	15 October 2013	15 years, 5 days
15	Joachim Löw	Germany	12 July 2006	29 June 2021	14 years, 352 days
16	Billy Bingham	Northern Ireland	26 March 1980	17 November 1993	13 years, 236 days
17	Helmut Schön	West Germany	4 November 1964	21 June 1978	13 years, 229 days
18	Sepp Herberger	West Germany	22 November 1950	7 June 1964	13 years, 198 days
19	Didier Deschamps	France	8 July 2012	Present	13 years, 162 days
20	Guy Thys	Belgium	22 May 1976	8 June 1989	13 years, 17 days
21	Olavi Laaksonen	Finland	19 June 1962	9 October 1974	12 years, 112 days
22	Helmut Kosmehl	Mauritius	1 January 1976	1 January 1988	12 years, 0 days
23	Alf Ramsey	England	27 February 1963	3 April 1974	11 years, 35 days
24	Georg Buschner	East Germany	1 May 1970	31 May 1981	11 years, 30 days
25	David Rodrigo	Andorra	1 May 1999	1 February 2010	10 years, 276 days
26	Sepp Piontek	Denmark	1 July 1979	1 April 1990	10 years, 274 days
27	Enzo Bearzot	Italy	27 September 1975	17 June 1986	10 years, 263 days
28	Peter Doherty	Northern Ireland	6 October 1951	9 May 1962	10 years, 215 days
29	Gaston Barreau	France	18 January 1920	25 May 1930	10 years, 127 days

See also

• List of football managers with most games