After a whopping eight matches in charge, Nathan Jones has been relieved of his duties by Southampton, giving one brave, brave man the chance to have a go at trying to keep them in the Premier League.
The fact that Jones was only at the helm for three months and yet his sacking felt like a long time coming speaks volumes about how badly things went – 11 managers have picked up a point at St Mary’s this season and he isn’t one of them.
His efforts have left the club rock bottom of the table, so they need to get their next appointment right if they want to avoid a return to the Championship.
Here’s who they could turn to.
Clubs managed: SpVgg Unterhaching, VfR Aalen, Ingolstadt, RB Leipzig, Southampton
Going back to an ex isn’t always a good idea, but maybe it is for Southampton?
Sure, there were some low points under Ralph Hasenhuttl – losing more than one match 9-0 isn’t ideal – but there were highs too. The Austrian implemented a very defined high-energy style of play, and they were capable of being utterly brilliant if everything synced up nicely.
Whether Hasenhuttl would go back just months after being dismissed is another thing, but maybe it’s worth a shot as he did bag 12 of the 15 points they’ve accrued so far this season.
Clubs managed: Rangers, Aston Villa
The bookmakers favourite, at the time of writing, is former Aston Villa and Rangers boss Steven Gerrard.
Dismissed from his post earlier this season, Gerrard preserved Villa’s Premier League status last year before embarking on a run of two wins from the club’s opening 12 games this time around. Swings and roundabouts.
He did do an excellent job at Rangers before that, though handing him the reins would appear on the surface to be a rather large risk.
Clubs managed: RB Salzburg II, SC Rheindorf Altach, SV Grodig, Red Bull Salzburg, Young Boys, Eintracht Frankfurt, Borussia Monchengladbach
If Southampton are interested in reviving Hasenhuttl’s philosophy, to an extent, they could do far worse than former Eintracht Frankfurt boss Adi Hutter.
The Austrian laid the foundations for Frankfurt’s future success before succeeding Marco Rose at Monchengladbach last season. That particular venture didn’t work out, but he has success spells with Salzburg and Young Boys to also fall back on.
Not a favourite but not a bad shout by…
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