Southampton appoints Ivan Juric as manager after firing Russell Martin

Fabrizio Romano has stated that Southampton has reached an agreement to replace Russell Martin as head coach with Ivan Juric, a former Roma manager. The Croatian tactician's contract terms have been verbally agreed upon by the Saints, who are currently negotiating his terms of departure from Roma. Romano claims that Juric will sign his contract with St Mary's today, which might put him in charge of their Sunday trip to Fulham. The current plan is for interim manager Simon Rusk to lead Sunday's trip to Fulham, and he will speak to the media this afternoon.

Following barely two months and 12 games in charge, Ivan Juric was fired as Roma's head coach in November following only four victories during his brief tenure at the Stadio Olimpico. After being named Daniele De Rossi's replacement in September, the 49-year-old won just two of his next nine games after going undefeated in his first three. Before this, Juric managed Serie A teams Genoa, Hellas Verona, and Torino for three seasons, leading each team to mid-table results.

After Russell Martin was fired on Sunday, Southampton was apparently looking for a new manager and had looked at Carlos Corberan of West Bromwich Albion and Danny Rohl of Sheffield Wednesday as possible candidates. After Martin was fired, Simon Rusk took over as temporary manager of the Under-21 team and managed their 2-1 loss to Liverpool in the Carabao Cup quarterfinals.

Southampton struggling in Premier League

With just one victory and five points out of a possible 48, Southampton is currently at the bottom of the Premier League standings after 16 games. The Saints' final two 2024 games are against Fulham on Sunday and West Ham on the road. It is anticipated that Juric will strengthen the team, especially defensively, as Southampton has five points and a -25 goal differential, making them the lowest-scoring team in the league this season with just 11 goals scored.