Club linked with Sheffield Wednesday’s Danny Röhl make manager decision – immediate replacement confirmed
The Saints made an approach for the Wednesday boss earlier in the season but were unable to get their man, going on to appoint Juric in their quest to try and stay in the Premier League. That quest has now failed, with a defeat to Tottenham Hotspur at the weekend confirming their relegation, and they’ve moved swiftly to part ways with the Croatian.
“We can confirm that we have today reached an agreement with our Men’s First Team Manager, Ivan Jurić, to end his spell at the club,” a statement from the club read. “Ivan came to Southampton at a tough time and was tasked with trying to improve a squad in a difficult situation. 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.”
Simon Rusk takes over for the rest of the season
Meanwhile, regarding the rest of the current campaign, they went on to say, “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.”
The decision to appoint Rusk until the end of the campaign suggests that they have no plans to find their next man right away, something that will no doubt pour fuel on the fire when it comes to a potential return for Röhl in the summer.
Wednesday would be due compensation should the Saints – or anyone else for that matter – tempt the German away, however it has been widely reported that the amount drops significantly for a Championship club, which Southampton will now be in a few months’ time.
