Ex-Brighton man takes charge as Premier League boss swiftly exits ahead of Aston Villa and West Ham
Former Brighton man Simon Rusk takes temporary charge at St Mary’s
Ivan Juric has left his role as Southampton manager following confirmation of the club’s Premier League relegation, according to reports.
Saints’ fate was sealed in record-breaking fashion by Sunday’s 3-1 defeat at Tottenham.
Croatian Juric, who was appointed as Russell Martin’s replacement on an 18-month deal in December, took just four points from his 14 top-flight games in charge.
The 49-year-old’s only league victory was a 2-1 success at fellow strugglers Ipswich on February 1.
Former Brighton coach Simon Rusk – with help from former Seagull Adam Lallana – will now take charge until the end of the season.
Rusk joined Brighton in March 2015 as a youth team coach and was promoted to first team coach in 2016 by then manager Chris Hughton.
He had a short stint as manager of Stockport County in 2021 before joining the England set-up and took charge of the England under-19s.
He was then set-piece at Nottingham Forest before joining the Saints in 2024.
A record low for Saints
Southampton were the first team to be relegated from the Premier League with seven games of a campaign remaining and are still a point short of equalling Derby’s record low 11-point haul from 2007-08.
Juric paid tribute to Southampton’s “incredible” fan base following defeat at Spurs before news of his departure emerged on Monday morning.
Having suffered relegation in 2023, Saints secured promotion at the first time of asking by beating Leeds in the final of last season’s Championship play-off final at Wembley.
The south-coast club, who have since won just twice in the league, registered only five points from 16 games before sacking Martin in the wake of a humiliating 5-0 home defeat to Tottenham on December 15.
Saints’ other point this term came in a goalless draw at Fulham under caretaker boss Rusk, a game former Genoa, Torino and Roma coach Juric watched from the stands.
Southampton have been linked with a swoop for 35-year-old Sheffield Wednesday boss Danny Rohl, who previously worked at the club under former manager Ralph Hasenhuttl.
With a further two points required to better Derby’s record low points tally, Saints’ miserable season continues on Saturday at home to high-flying Aston Villa.
They will then face West Ham, Fulham, Leicester, Manchester City, Everton and Arsenal before dropping back into the second tier.
Southampton statement
the club said: “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.
“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.”