IT IS October 28 and the battle is already well under way to become the latest winner of the annually held Premiership sack race.

Despite all the speculation at a similar stage last season, punters had to wait until November 24 to learn whether their betting slips had been a success or a failure.

Alain Perrin, the Portsmouth manager at the time, was the man to make way and many, including Newcastle's Graeme Souness and Sunderland's Mick McCarthy, followed.

This season the candidature already stands at five, possibly more if you think Neil Warnock, Aidy Boothroyd or Middlesbrough's Gareth Southgate stand a chance of being axed before any of their counterparts.

But if Stuart Pearce had his way there would be no such race. All managers facing the sack would suffer their fate at the same time, with a window of opportunity introduced for chairman to dish out the P45s.

So let's imagine that, in Pearce's perfect world and for this year only, there is a two-week gap at the start of November, instigated by the Football Association, whereby the hierarchy at top-flight clubs have the chance to pull the trigger.

Suddenly chairmen panic. As well as the likes of the early-season strugglers releasing managers from their contracts, those in mid-table are also doing the same. Even Liverpool, who would have climbed up from the 11th place position they currently occupy into a Champions League spot by May and lifted the FA Cup, are parting company with European Cup winner Rafael Benitez after a lacklustre start.

Iain Dowie, despite winning at Newcastle later today, is removed because there is no other suitable time to do it. As a result Newcastle boss Glenn Roeder, after losing to the league's bottom club and slipping into the relegation zone, departs on the eve of Thursday night's UEFA Cup fixture in Italy with Palermo.

And Alan Pardew, the under-fire West Ham boss, makes way for the club to turn, again, to Sir Trevor Brooking.

Get the picture? It would be an absolute farce, complete chaos.

For a while, Liverpool, Charlton, Newcastle and West Ham are all looking to appoint a new manager. They are then joined by other clubs needing to do exactly the same who have suddenly opted to become managerless themselves.

Pearce, on the back of last week's 4-0 defeat to Wigan and Monday night's home reversal to Middlesbrough, is next out.

In fact, with the majority of the Premiership's chairman now panicked into thinking they have to move now or miss the boat, two-thirds of the league are looking for a new boss.

Now back to the real world. Such a scenario will never be introduced by the Football Association or the Premier League. Even the League Managers' Association would contest such a move. In the cold light of day Pearce is likely to regret his comments. Otherwise, if he meant them and for some bizarre reason they rang true, he would have increased his own chances of having to look for a new job.

At the moment, managers in similar positions to Pearce have an opportunity to turn things around. A change to the above and out-of-work football mangers would all be crying out for media work at the same time