LONDON, April 7 — Southampton has parted company with coach Ivan Juric the day after the club’s relegation from the Premier League to the Championship was confirmed on Sunday with a 3-1 defeat away to Tottenham.
The defeat leaves the ‘Saints’ with just 10 points from 31 matches this season, 22 points behind Wolverhampton Wanderers that sits in 17th place with 32 points, with just 21 points left to play for. “We can confirm that we have today reached an agreement with our Men’s First Team Manager, Ivan Juric, to end his spell at the club.” “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,” said the club, adding that the search for a new coach will begin immediately.
Sunday’s defeat means Southampton set a new record for a team to be relegated from the Premier League with the most games still to play this season beating Derby Country’s unwanted record of going down with six matches still to play in the 2007-2008 season. Southampton still needs two points from the last seven matches to beat Derby’s total of 11 points and avoid relegation with the lowest ever total for a top-flight campaign. Former Roma boss Juric replaced Russell Martin in December with Southampton already rooted in bottom spot, but his 14 matches in charge only yielded four points, from one win (against fellow struggler Ipswich Town) and a draw – along with 12 defeats. (Xinhua)
