Southampton’s inconsistent start to the season has left the club languishing out of the top 10 and just outside the relegation zone in 17th position on the table. As the pressure grows on their manager Mauricio Pellegrino, the Saints will feel that 5 wins in twenty-nine matches are far from the desired campaign they were hoping for.
They have collected 28 points from their twenty-nine game weeks and will be hoping to change their luck soon. The club appears to be flirting with danger as they are already a point ahead of the safety zone and will now have to work hard if they want to enjoy the riches of the Premier League next season.
Reports now have confirmed that the Saints’ board is ready to sack Manuel Pellegrino over the next one week, even if the club’s fortune does change. The board is already looking at possible replacements with Fulham’s Slavisa Jokanovic and Ostersund chief Graham Potter being the men lined up on their radar.
At Southampton, after a tumultuous summer, that oversaw the arrival of Manuel Pellegrino replacing Claude Puel at the helm of the club and a legal complaint filed against Liverpool over the Virgil Van Dijk saga, the new manager did not get the desired calm and peace required to settle in and implement his philosophy at St. Mary’s. Southampton also oversaw the departure of a few club regulars like Jay Rodriguez, Lloyd Isgrove and Jordy Clasie. Of the new signings, the limelight went to the man arriving from Juventus, Mario Lemina.
The Saints’ star defender Van Dijk has left the club. Liverpool were one of the many clubs interested in securing the Dutch defender’s service but their initial move was a little too aggressive for Southampton’s liking who went on to take legal action against the Merseyside club, thereby formally putting an end to Liverpool’s attempt to sign the defender for the time being.
However, Liverpool has corrected their mistake this time around and paid Southampton a monstrous 75 million pounds for Van Dijk.
This has left Pellegrino as the manager at a club who simply has failed to overcome the distractions of the outside world to perform as a unit. They have been unable to keep up with their good showings in the last few seasons and have fallen rather rapidly off the pace.
For Pellegrino, the news that his doom is coming irrespective of the club’s fortune could have a rather negative impact on him and stop him from giving it his hundred percent at the club which in turn will hamper the club even further. All in all, a tricky few weeks up ahead for the Saints.
