FORMER Saints boss Dave Merrington insists the multi-millionaire culture of today's Premiership football scene contributes to the stress managers are under.

Glenn Roeder became the latest high-profile manager to experience stress-related problems when he was rushed into hospital within hours of West Ham's win against Middlesbrough on Monday.

The likes of ex-Saints manager Graeme Souness, Gerard Houllier and Joe Kinnear have all undergone heart-related problems in recent years.

And Merrington lifted the lid on the pressure-cooker atmosphere which is today's Premiership to insist: "What happened to Glenn doesn't surprise me."

The Geordie said only those who have experienced the "furnace" like qualities of managing in the top flight can understand the mammoth mental strain managers are under.

"With all the pressures of trying to stay in the Premiership, the stress on managers these days is becoming greater and greater," he remarked.

Merrington, who managed Saints for a season in the mid-1990s, added: "What hasn't helped managers is the money players are on in the Premiership these days. Players can become millionaries almost overnight.

"At some clubs you have to ask if the players, who could be on £20,000 or £30,000 a week, are bothered about the results as much as the manager and the fans are bothered.

"Some players could be living in a comfort zone if they're on that sort of money, they're financially secure after all - their salaries could act as armour.

"Blaming the manager is the easy way out."

You rarely hear of chairmen getting sacked.

"The only reason Peter Ridsdale went at Leeds in the end was because he had appointed David O'Leary and the money he had to spend had obviously been approved by the PLC.

"Ridsdale went because he was getting stick, but that took a while to come.

"Normally boards of directors are quick to deflect any stick by sacking the manager."

Merrington continued: "A manager can do all his work during the week but on a Saturday afternoon he's in the hands of 11 players. If two or three of them aren't really motivated and doing their jobs then it could be a problem.

"It can be hard to ask the same players to keep motivating themselves every week if they're on £30,000 a week.

"I know people talk about the need for management skills and I agree with them, but that scenario can be hard to handle.

"If you're down the bottom then it's likely harsh words would have to be said, and some players might not like to hear them.

"Look at someone like Di Canio - he's a bit of a loose cannon. You need all your players motivated and if some highly-paid ones go a bit blas on you that's a problem."

Merrington sympathises with current-day bosses, admitting: "Your job is totally under the microscope and what I've said just adds to the everyday problems you find anyway.

"What you become as a manager is battle-hardened, you develop a veneer.

"But it's easy to take your problems home with you and as soon as you do that it becomes a 24-hour job. You're constantly thinking about the job, you can't do anything else.

"I feel sorry for Glenn Roeder. He seems to have coped with the pressure well but it's obviously built up and it has to manifest itself in some way - in this case physically. It all comes from stress.

"I have been looking at the amount of former managers who have contracted Alzheimer's - is that down to heading the ball when they played or the pressures and stress that they have had throughout their careers?

"When I was in charge at Saints I had the pressures of keeping them in the Premier League and the pressure of not having hardly any money to spend. The most I could have was £500,000 - that was peanuts.

"You can't ask people who haven't been through that situation to understand it. The best they could do is try to understand it, and you'll always get the small minority who think they understand it.

"People don't realise the constant pressures of the job. It's like a furnace in the Premiership and you have to go through that fire to understand it.

"You can tell your staff to have a rest, and obviously you can rest players if you feel they are mentally tired, but you can't really have a rest yourself.

"I know people go on about possibly having a holiday during the season, but how many managers would actually take one. Chairmen can take a holiday whenever they want but that's hardly the case for managers.

"And there's no way you'd take on if your team was struggling. Imagine what the reaction of the fans would be - 'he should be here working.'"

The financial gulf between the Premiership and the First Division is greater than that of any other two divisions in the football pyramid.

Clubs who have gone down in recent years like Derby, Leicester, Forest, Barnsley, Bradford and Ipswich have all endured financial worries.

Those who have come up, like Barnsley, Bradford, Watford and West Brom, have found that without big money it's hard to survive.

Merrington said: "Pompey have had a great season, but Harry Redknapp will know he needs new players for next season. They will be in the Premiership and they will have to pay Premiership wages.

"The fear and pressure of going back down to the First Division will be at the forefront of their minds."

Saints boss Gordon Strachan is well known for putting himself through the emotional roller-coaster during an average Premiership match.

"When I watch Gordon I see someone who is trying to motivate himself and as a result pass that motivation onto his players," said Merrington.

"As you get older you learn to handle some of the minefields, you learn to handle yourself better."

He added: "There are different expectation levels at different clubs. At Manchester United success is demanded. Finishing fifth isn't an option. They have to be in the top three - that's the problem Liverpool have found this season.

"Gerard has worked hard to change the face of the club and they've had a good season, but because they had a blip mid-season he was criticised.

"I have worked at clubs like Sunderland and Leeds who believe they are the best and should be the best.

"Sunderland will now lose around £15m from being relegated, and they're going to have players on Premiership wages next season.

"A few years ago Saints fans probably got used to the fact their team would be happy to survive in the Premiership.

"But since they moved ground the expectation levels have changed. Their capacity has gone from 15,000 to 32,000 and fans will be thinking 'double the crowds, double the money coming in'.

"They will now expect a lot more than they did a few years ago, and that brings about its own pressure."

"There are pressures at the top and pressures at the bottom, and they present a different set of circumstances. I would always prefer the pressures of being at the top. At least then you should have a bit more financial leeway to bring in players to freshen up the dressing room."