Ivan Juric has left Southampton after the club’s Premier League’s relegation was confirmed.
The Saints became the earliest team ever to be relegated from England’s top flight, with their 3-1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur seeing their demotion confirmed with seven games to go.
Simon Rusk will take the team until the end of the season. Rusk took charge briefly when Russell Martin, Juric’s predecessor left St Mary’s. Adam Lallana will also be involved in the new setup.
Recently appointed Saints technical director Johannes Spors is leading the search for Juric’s successor.
However, the club are not close to making an appointment at present and Juric leaving now gives them the maximum amount of time to find the right candidate ahead of next season.
The Southampton players were told on Monday morning, with Juric’s backroom staff also leaving the club.
Juric’s time at the south coast club lasted just 108 days. He was appointed in the week before Christmas and was handed an 18-month contract, with a break clause which would be reviewed at the end of the season.
Saints record
The Croatian boss, who was dismissed by Roma after a dismal six-week spell last November, won just one out of his 14 Premier League games in charge – a 2-1 win over Ipswich at the start of February.
He lost 12 out of those 14 matches, with the Saints averaging 2.7 Premier League goals conceded under him.
“Ivan came to Southampton at a tough time and was tasked with trying to improve a squad in a difficult situation,” said a statement from the club.
“Unfortunately, we haven’t seen performances progress the way we had hoped, but we would like to thank Ivan and his staff for their honesty and hard work as they fought against the odds to try and keep us up.
“With relegation to the Championship now confirmed, we believe it is important to give fans, players and staff some clarity on the future as we head into a very important summer.
“The process of finding a new manager to lead us as we look to secure an immediate return to the Premier League has now begun and is being led by Group Technical Director Johannes Spors.
Saints player Adam Lallana will now help Simon Rusk in managing the team for the remaining seven fixtures of this season
“In the meantime, Simon Rusk has agreed to take charge of the team as Interim Manager for the remaining seven fixtures of this season and will be assisted by Adam Lallana.
“We remain incredibly grateful for the ongoing support of our fans. Their continued dedication and passion, despite what has been a very tough season, is remarkable and is appreciated by everyone at the club.
“Despite the challenges that relegation will bring, our goal is to restore a sense of pride for them in their team and club once again.”
‘After just 108 days in charge and two wins, the inevitable has happened’
Sky Sports News’ Paul Gilmour at St Mary’s:
“After 108 days and 16 matches in charge in all competitions and just two wins – and one of those was in the FA Cup – and 13 defeats, we have learned the inevitable that Ivan Juric and his staff have left Southampton with immediate effect.
“We understand Simon Rusk will come in until the end of the season, just as he did briefly when Russell Martin left his role, with Adam Lallana also involved in some way in this temporary setup to take Southampton through to the end of the season as they look to avoid Derby’s unwanted lowest Premier League points total record and one win will take them past that.
Sky Sports News’ James Green and Declan Olley review Tottenham Hotspur’s comprehensive 3-1 win over Southampton, which saw the Saints get relegated from the Premier League.
“And then Southampton will turn to what happens next season in the Championship. They knew all along that Juric had signed this 18-month contract with a break clause to review his position in the summer, but in the end, they did not need to do that.”
‘Southampton’s problems run deeper than Juric’
Sky Sports’ Laura Hunter:
Much has been made of Derby County’s record-low points haul in recent weeks and here Southampton are, teetering on the edge of eclipsing it. Such a possibility feels a sad indictment of the obvious gap between the Championship and Premier League, which is only growing not shrinking. But still, to be relegated with seven games to play is woeful and a terrible reflection on Ivan Juric’s time in the hot seat.
He now holds the record for the lowest points-per-game average of any manager to take charge of at least 10 games. This was a bad, knee-jerk appointment. Surely the Croat’s dreadful stint at Roma was enough of a red flag?
But zooming out to analyse the wider picture, Juric simply represents one of a number of poor decisions taken by the club’s ownership group Sport Republic since their takeover in 2022. Lots of square pegs in round holes with very little coherent thinking. There’s long been a sense of resignation from the fanbase over the club’s direction.
Even if Saints do manage to surpass Derby’s points total there’s plenty to condemn this side as one of the worst the top-flight has ever seen – bad recruitment has played its part too. Time for another reset. Hopefully this latest action-plan is geared towards breaking a clear cycle of incompetency for good.
Juric’s last words as Saints boss
Southampton boss Ivan Juric admits he is looking to avoid the lowest-ever Premier League points tag after his side’s relegation from the Premier League was confirmed following a defeat against Spurs.
Ivan Juric after the 3-1 defeat to Spurs:
“What I noticed we missed the most in these three or four months that I’m here, [it’s a] completely different physicality between us and the other teams in the Premier League.
“I think the same thing has happened to Leicester and Ipswich.
“The difference between physicality in the Championship and the Premier League… the gap is huge.
“But you have to find, from now, from this moment, the players that can grow up, that can improve. Not just thinking about winning the Championship, but create the players that will be ready in the Premier League.
“I said to the players they have to be really thankful that they had fans like this, it was something incredible how they love their team.
Premier League highlights of the match between Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton.
“I think they really deserve much more. Every person that works at Southampton has to do it better and create something much more stronger than we did this year.
“It is a different culture and even for my mentality, it is something incredible and to show loving in these moments is the great English and Southampton culture, incredible.
“Now is a really important moment to understand all the mistakes the club has made the past three or four years and for the club to start to create something really good.”
The unwanted records Saints can break
Take a look at some of Southampton’s defensive mishaps that ultimately led to their relegation to the Championship.
Southampton’s miserable return to the Premier League has come to its inevitable conclusion.
The writing was on the wall for Southampton – and had been for some time. They are the first team in Premier League history to be relegated with as many as seven games of the season remaining.
Southampton’s relegation back to the Championship was confirmed following their 3-1 defeat at Tottenham, their 25th league defeat.
The Saints are the third team to lose as many as 25 of their first 31 games of a top-flight campaign, after Sunderland in 2005-06 and Sheffield United in 2020-21 (both also 25).
It has been quite the contrast to last season, when a 22-match unbeaten run in the Championship helped aid their successful bid for promotion to the Premier League via a play-off final win over Leeds at Wembley.
The harsh reality is that many are now talking about Southampton as one of the worst teams in Premier League history.
