Off the Bottom but Not Yet in the Clear in La Coruña Stability breeding consistency doesn't seem to be an adage favored by La Liga clubs, although the facts should perhaps be given more thought by trigger-happy presidents. Last season's three relegated clubs - Villarreal, Sporting Gijon and Racing Santander - all changed managers at least once during the season. One would be forgiven, then, for being unforgiving of Deportivo la Coruña's Primera Division status when in February, languishing at bottom of the league, they appointed their third manager of the campaign. José Luis Oltra, the man who steered the club out of La Segunda last season, was the first coach to part with the Galician club. He was dealt a cruel twist on Christmas cheer when he was handed his pink slip over the winter break, to be replaced by old Sporting Lisbon boss Domingos Paciencia. Paciencia, a former Portuguese international, lasted a mere six weeks though and, by the time Fernando Vázquez was appointed, Deportivo looked certain to be on track for a return ticket into Spain's second tier. It's not just the management structure which has been reeling at the Riazor though. On January 10 the club entered receivership - the 19th of 42 club's in Spain's top two divisions to have done so since 2004 - with debts of €156 million (just over $200 million). The debts have been spiraling out of control for a while; for five years the club sent no reports to the Mercantile Registry and, when there was no room left for maneuver, they stopped paying their taxes. It's safe to say relegation would be disastrous for the club. No pressure then for El Professor, the nickname given to manager Vázquez, a former English teacher with no professional playing experience. The 58-year-old Vázquez had been out of soccer, more or less, since 2007 when he ended has tenure as manager of Deportivo's fierce rivals, Celta Vigo. That is where the bad news ends, at least for now, and the good news begins, because a 3-1 win against their Galician neighbors in March sparked a run of results which has seen Deportivo navigate out of the bottom three. Before the derby Deportivo was without a win in nine games, since a victory over Malaga in the first match of 2013, the first of Paciencia's reign - but one that proved his only win. The three points against Celta were not just huge because of the rivalry connotations, nor just because the clubs are in a battle at the bottom together, but because of the run of wins it spawned. Mallorca and Real Zaragoza - who are both now in the bottom three - were next to fall, before Deportivo thumped Levante, 4-0, to record their fourth straight win; their longest stretch of wins ever in La Liga. Superdepor is still a suggested nickname for the club, and elements of the team that won La Liga and got to the semifinals of the Champions League a decade ago remain. Fullback Manuel Pablo and midfielder Juan Carlos Valerón - who despite his lack of pace and aging legs still remains a key figure - are both 37 and contribute to an older squad that includes the 12-goal forward Riki, 32. With six games to go, Deportivo la Coruña looks intent on staying up their way: by attacking. The earlier four-game winning streak brought 13 goals, and the club has scored 43 this season - the ninth highest total in La Liga, far above their current overall position, 16th. The problem has been conceding goals (64, tied for the most). Riki, Valerón, Bruno Gama and Pizzi - who is Atlético-bound in the summer - are an attacking quartet causing problems, while players such as midfielder Abel Aguilar and fullback Silvio - signed on loan from Atlético in January - have created balance in the starting 11. For now the route to survival under Vázquez seems based on thinking that Deportivo can score more than the opposition. If it can't, and the club tumbles back down into La Segunda, the financial repercussions might not be worth thinking about. Samuel Marsden is a freelance journalist who lives and works in Barcelona. Find him on Twitter @samuelmarsden.