Eight gone in nine months - is being a Scottish Premiership manager a near impossible task?

Another weekend, another managerial departure in the Scottish Premiership.

Callum Davidson was the eighth boss to depart this season when he mutually parted with St Johnstone on Sunday, seven days on from Robbie Neilson's dismissal at Hearts.

The total number of mid-season exits is already up on last season's six, four of which were sackings.

Here, BBC Scotland charts who has gone so far, what one former manager thinks of it and asks why there has been so much change.

• St Johnstone in no rush to replace Davidson

High turnover early in the making

Motherwell had not even started their league campaign when they decided to part with Graham Alexander back in July, Steven Hammell taking up the reins. Alexander made way after a European exit at the hands of Sligo Rovers.

Hammell also departed the role following a Scottish Cup defeat by Raith Rovers in February, replaced by incumbent Stuart Kettlewell.

Dundee United too have twice changed their manager - Jack Ross sacked after a 9-0 home defeat by Celtic in August and Liam Fox moving on in February following a 4-0 loss at Ross County.

Jim Goodwin had been let go by Aberdeen around a month before he took over from Fox at United, a 6-0 loss for the Dons at Hibernian proving to be the final straw.

Aberdeen have since improved and moved up to third in the table under Barry Robson, with Hearts dropping to fourth the day before Neilson's second spell in charge at Tynecastle ended.

Davidson and Giovanni van Bronckhorst, who left Rangers in November, went into this season as Scottish Cup-winning managers, Davidson also having won the League Cup during season 2020-21.

But, like so many of their contemporaries, league form was the deciding factor in their demise. Saints are without a win in seven and Van Bronckhorst's side dropped seven points in his last five league games in charge as Celtic pulled away at the top of the division.

'Little tolerance when things go wrong'

"It just shows you how precarious the role is," former Hearts and Dundee United manager Craig Levein told BBC Radio Scotland's Drivetime.

"Of the current 42 SPFL managers, there's only 17 that have been in situ for more than a year. It's quite incredible.

"There's little tolerance when things start to go wrong. That has become more and more apparent. They are getting less time to turn things round."

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A disputed adage of the game is that of the 'managerial bounce'. Van Bronckhorst's replacement Michael Beale as well as Kettlewell and Goodwin have shown themselves to be in the pro column of that argument.

However, Fox found the winning formula hard to come by and, though it's still very early days, Hearts interim boss Steven Naismith watched his first match in charge end with defeat by city rivals Hibs on Saturday.

Hammell started well at Motherwell with two away wins over his first few games but Well's home form on his watch was problematic before the cup exit to lower league opposition sealed his fate.

Robson's Aberdeen have won six in a row, a record matched only by Celtic, and the former Scotland midfielder has earned a stay in post until the end of the season. However, he endured painful defeats by St Mirren and Celtic over his first three games in the dugout.

"We all understand that supporters do get frustrated," says Levein. "There's more kneejerk reactions happening than there's ever been when it comes to decisions about whether you should keep or move your manager on."

Why so much upheaval?

When Hearts chief executive Andrew McKinlay addressed the media following Neilson's exit, he was adamant the Tynecastle side should be third in the Premiership, indicating that it was worth up to an additional £6m of European income.

Goodwin's departure from Aberdeen came amidst a drop in form that looked like putting them out of that race.

The threat of relegation has arguably been the biggest factor behind the changes at United and Motherwell, while it is perhaps a longer term malaise that affected Davidson and Van Bronckhorst.

Rangers' league results throughout 2022 were inconsistent, exacerbated by Celtic's impressive form.

The season after an incredible double cup triumph, St Johnstone struggled badly and avoided relegation via the play-offs. Saturday's loss to Livingston leaves them four points above the relegation play-off place.

Failing to meet targets is bad enough but criticism from the sidelines is growing ever louder.

"Supporters have almost instant access to owners and people in positions of power at clubs through social media," says Levein. "That doesn't help.

"When the owners or the people who are calling the shots start to get pressure themselves, it's easier to relieve yourself of that pressure by firing your manager. That's something that's happening increasingly more often."

Whether it's expectations not being met or clubs merely panicking, the job of a Scottish Premiership manager only seems to get tougher.

But, as Levein attests: "There'll be another 100 people queuing up to do the St Johnstone job because that's the nature of the beast."