There is “never a long-term” as manager, says Gills boss Justin Edinburgh after the latest League 1 departure.

Scunthorpe’s Mark Robins was sacked this week after a 5-0 defeat to Blackpool. He won the October manager-of-the-month award in League 1, but two months on becomes the ninth manager in the division to be sacked so far this season.

Three others have left by their own accord, leaving just half of the managers in their posts that started the season back in August.

“It is getting harder to build a club,” said Edinburgh, who has worked his way up from managing non-league teams.

“It is really difficult to have a long-term plan, a goal and to try and implement your ideas, to look beyond and look at youth and change structures at clubs, because you don’t really get the time.

“It is becoming a real precarious job. There are trends. It is always normally Championship clubs who change but it seems that it is League 1 this year."

There have been a record number of sackings across the top four divisions this season, with the figure currently at 34.

Edinburgh added: “You can’t have a five-year plan in a million years. You might be able to look at that after two, but your first plan is to get results and instant success.

“You have an immediate plan, a short-term plan and then a medium plan; there is never a long-term. You don’t get time.”