AITOR KARANKA claims English football is adopting the continental trend for chopping and changing managers, and counts himself fortunate to be working for a chairman who is renowned for giving his bosses time.

Karanka takes his Middlesbrough side to Wigan Athletic this afternoon, with the Latics in a state of turmoil following the dismissal of Uwe Rosler and the controversial decision to appoint Malkay Mackay as his replacement, despite the former Cardiff manager still being the subject of an FA inquiry into alleged racist, sexist and homophobic text messages.

The controversy intensified earlier this week when Wigan chairman, Dave Whelan, made a series of inflammatory comments in an attempt to defend Mackay’s actions, and it will be interesting to see the reaction of the DW Stadium crowd this afternoon given that one of the club’s major sponsors, Premier Range, have pulled out in protest at this week’s events.

Mackay’s return to football is a grim reminder of the sport’s lack of morality in a week that has also seen Sheffield United continue to wrestle with the dilemma of whether or not to re-sign convicted rapist Ched Evans, and while Karanka has not directly commented on Wigan’s choice of new boss, he has been surprised by the pace of managerial change within the Championship this season.

In the Spanish leagues, it is far from unusual for a manager to lose his job after a year or so in the post, but historically at least, England had operated within a different footballing culture where a managerial dismissal was a relatively rare occurrence. Not anymore.

“In Spain, it is normal for managers to change,” said Karanka. “Everybody knows that in September or October, some managers will be sacked. I think things are changing here and you are starting to see that too.

“There are much more foreign owners and managers than there were five or ten years ago, and the culture is changing. It is bad for the managers because you always want to have a chance to work in a calm situation, but that is football.”

Karanka celebrated his one-year anniversary as Middlesbrough’s head coach earlier this month, and in that time, the Spaniard has seen his side rise from the bottom half of the Championship table to the heart of the promotion race.

The average tenure for a manager in the Championship in the last three seasons has been just over 18 months, but while some clubs have changed things much more regularly than that - Leeds United and Watford have already had seven managers between them this season – Middlesbrough continue to buck the trend for knee-jerk judgements.

In Steve Gibson’s 20 years as chairman, the club has had just seven permanent managers or head coaches and Karanka was aware of the owner’s reputation for stability before he agreed to take over at the Riverside.

“I am a very lucky manager because I know I am in a place where the chairman has a lot of respect for his managers,” he said. “I know he is known for giving his managers a fair chance, and for that reason, I am very lucky.”

Earlier this season, Middlesbrough’s 1-0 win over Cardiff resulted in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s departure from the Cardiff City Stadium two days later, but the boot is on the other foot this afternoon as the Teessiders take on side who could potentially be energised by the arrival of a new boss.

Wigan go into today’s game in the Championship’s relegation zone, having won just one of their last 12 matches, but Karanka feels they are in a false position and has been surprised by the extent of their struggles this term.

“It is a big surprise to me because, last season, Wigan were one of the better teams,” he said. “When we played against them, the manager had only been in charge for one or two months, but I liked his team a lot.

“In pre-season, they brought in new players, who were good players, and I thought they would be in one of the highest positions. Now with the new manager, it is going to be a difficult game.”

Boro will be boosted by the presence of around 5,000 travelling fans in Lancashire, a level of support that would be unheard of in Karanka’s homeland, even if one of La Liga’s giants were involved in the game.

“It would never happen in Spain, not even with Barcelona or Real Madrid,” he said. “Maybe if you are playing to win something at the end of the season, you might get some supporters who travel to the game, but it is very unusual.

“Maybe if you are playing in Valencia, the people who support Real Madrid but live in Valencia will go to the game, but that is all. It is not part of the culture, and it is not usual for so many people to travel with the team.”