Middlesbrough boss Gareth Southgate has admitted that he takes criticism of him and his managerial counterparts 'with a pinch of salt'.
Having seen Tony Adams and Luiz Felipe Scolari sacked in the past week and with several other Premier League bosses peering perilously over the managerial abyss, coaches such as Southgate could be forgiven for developing a growing paranoia over their futures.
But the Boro boss insists that such worries are just part and parcel of the job and managers must embrace the inevitable lows alongside the great highs.
"I have just been on a course with other managers and by the time it finished two had been sacked and another (Joe Kinnear) ended up in hospital," Southgate said.
"You have to accept the nature of the game that you are in, but at the same time you learn to take it with a pinch of salt.
"Not long ago everyone was hailing Scolari. He has outstanding pedigree and has won the World Cup. If it (being sacked) happens to him, it can happen to anybody.
"Gianfranco Zola at West Ham was under pressure after a poor run. When we played them earlier in the season they couldn't win a game, though they played well.
"Now he's being tipped to take over at Chelsea. That's how things can change in football, that's what hype does."
Indeed, Southgate is due to shake hands with his Italian adversary this weekend when Boro meet West Ham in the FA Cup fifth-round.
And the one-time finalist, who came up against Zola in the 2000 final, has revealed that he is desperate to experience a Wembley final once again.
"I still feel the magic of the FA Cup," he admitted. "I want to be in there as long as we can.
"In the last two years we have reached the quarter-finals and I want to get at least that far again.
"It is one of the toughest draws we could have had because West Ham are in form. But we will field as strong a side as we can."
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