Southampton are set to sack Ivan Juric – but the Premier League’s bottom club will not do so until the end of the season.
The Saints have won just once since Juric replaced the sacked Russell Martin in December. They are on course for one of the worst seasons in Premier League history, having won just nine points from 27 games, scoring only 19 goals and conceding 65 times.
This is Juric’s first job in England but it has proven to be a disaster. In fairness, Southampton’s campaign appeared to be beyond saving even before the Croatian arrived.
He was handed an 18-month deal when he first landed at St Mary’s, which would have allowed him a crack at getting Southampton immediately promoted. But the South Coast side will not give him the chance to take them straight back up.
Instead, according to The Sun, they are planning to sack him at the end of the season. Sheffield Wednesday boss Danny Rohl is their top target, with the German having miraculously saving the Owls from relegation last season.
Rohl was previously Ralph Hasenhuttl’s assistant at Southampton and was a target after Martin was sacked. But talks stalled over compensation, which could reach up to £4million for a Premier League club.
A fractious relationship exists between the two teams, with Rohl’s compensation fee dropping should the Saints go down as expected. Juric has struggled to win hearts and minds since his arrival.
A number of hammerings have also severley damaged his reputation, including a 5-0 defeat to Brentford and consecutive 4-0 losses to Brighton and Chelsea. They are 13 points from safety, with relegation inevitable.
Despite his side’s awful results, Juric has insisted he still believes he is the right man for the job. The Croatian did admit though that he is finding it difficult to turn the Saints around.
“I know the situation is difficult and the Championship is real possibility. My idea was to come to England after many years in Italy. I have started to create something and I know I need to have patient,” he said after the hammering at Chelsea.
“My idea was the same two months ago and it’s still the same. The numbers say that with different styles of football with different coaches, the results are still the same. It is a big lesson for all of us to create something stronger and better than this.
“We have a lot of young players. They want to grow up. They are really good guys. Maybe they are playing in the Premier League for the first time. It is not easy. But I am not scared. If they work hard, we will keep going.”
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