After being in charge of Southampton for just 14 games, Nathan Jones’ time at Saint Mary’s Stadium has come to an end.
The Saints decided to axe the Welshman following a 2-1 defeat at home against 10-men Wolves on Saturday 11th of February. This leaves Southampton rooted to the bottom of the table on just 15 points after 22 games.
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They’ve won just one of their last six games in all competitions and Jones steered them to a total of just five wins over his 14 games with no draws and nine losses.
Paddy’s trusty traders are here to help you separate the wheat from the chaff and they’ve priced up the runners and riders as to who might be the next Southampton manager.
Jesse Marsch
Former Leeds United manager Jesse Marsch might not be unemployed for long. He was recently let go by Leeds following a run of collecting just four points from his last eight Premier League matches. The former RB Salzburg and RB Leipzig manager can boast a far better record from his time in Austria but in Germany won just eight games from 21.
Dean Smith
Former Brentford, Aston Villa and Norwich manager Dean Smith is also a name being brandied about. At the first two clubs he had a win percentage just shy of 40% for both but things did not go well at Norwich where he won just 16 games from 56 with the Canaries. What he does boast however is far more experience with teams who need a lift but has come in for criticism over the years for neglecting the defensive responsivities of his teams in preference for getting more players forward in search of goals.
Steven Gerrard
There’s little doubt that former Rangers and Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard will be looking to make a return to management, especially after how things ended in Birmingham for the former Red. He only managed a win percentage of 32.5% over his 40 games at the Villa helm but across the border drove Rangers to a Premiership title with a win percentage of 64.8%.
Can he turn things around with a struggling Saints side? He won his first four from six with Villa in the Premier League, Southampton fans would certainly take that at the moment.
Ralph Hasenhuttl
King of the Alpine press, Ralph Hasenhuttl, hasn’t taken on a role since being dismissed by Southampton on November 7th. He’s among the reckoning here, though. Of course, he knows the team and the structure of the club but it didn’t exactly end well the last time and we’re doubtful that Saints’ fans would like to see him returning so soon.
Ruben Selles
Southampton’s caretaker manager, Ruben Selles, will be eager to impress and take on his first senior managerial role. Over his coaching career he’s lived in the shadows at Qarabag, Valencia and Copenhagen before coming to Southampton as assistant manager in 2022. If he can get good results against Chelsea and Leeds over the coming two weeks he may well be given the role.
Rafa Benitez
Former Liverpool Champions League winning manager Rafa Benetiz also has been mentioned. In his time at Liverpool he won five major trophy while with Inter and Napoli won another too and won the Europa League with Chelsea too. His time at Everton is best forgotten but a case can certainly be made here for his defensive talents as a manager. The Saints have conceded 40 Premier League goals already and if they have any hope of staying up they simply need to fix that problem first.
Mauricio Pochettino
Mauricio Pochettino did a brilliant job at Southampton before leaving to join Tottenham. Following his time with Spurs he lead PSG to a Ligue Un title and two domestic cups as well. It feels unlikely the 50-year-old would return to his old stomping ground with Pochettino eyeing clubs in the Champions League.
*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.
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