FOOTBALL managers in the modern era don’t tend to get too much time in charge of a club.

Of the 72 teams in the Football League, 45 have only been in charge for this calendar year.

Longevity and loyalty are in short supply, with the managerial industry driven more and more by instant results.

Therefore it is somewhat refreshing when managers remain at a club for more than a couple of years.

Two of the Football League’s longest-serving bosses will go head-to-head this weekend when Oxford United’s Karl Robinson takes his side to John Coleman’s Accrington Stanley.

Coleman is the third-longest serving manager in the Football League, having took charge of the Lancashire side in September 2014. Robinson meanwhile is fifth on the list.

This season, Robinson has arguably faced harsher questions and criticism more than at any other point while U’s boss.

At times, it looked like he was a bad result or two away from joining the managerial merry-go-round.

However, an eight-game unbeaten run has lifted the mood surrounding the club.

While there is still much work to do if this season is to be successful, the situation shows that sometimes patience in a cut-throat world can be a good thing.