Southampton owner confirms final decision involving Ivan Juric’s future | OneFootball

Southampton owner Dragan Solak has confirmed that Ivan Juric will remain the Southampton manager for the 2025/26 season, even if the Saints are relegated.

When Ivan Juric was unveiled as the new Southampton manager in December, there was a wave of optimism. Admittedly, there was a nagging feeling of "we can only improve after Russell Martin."

Unfortunately for the Croatian manager, he has not experienced good luck in his first month and change in the Southampton hotseat. Actually, he is yet to pick up his first Premier League win.

So, now the Saints continue to face their uphill battle of surviving the Premier League drop. In fact, it is pretty much accepted that we will walk the plank and if we don't, well, it would be a miracle.

That said, what will happen to Ivan Juric if Southampton are relegated?

Nothing. That's the answer.

Southampton owner confirms final decision involving Ivan Juric’s future

According to Alfie House of Daily Echo, Southampton owner and chairman Dragan Solak has confirmed that the club will stick Ivan Juric next season, regardless of which division they find themselves in.

Speaking to talkSPORT, Solak said: "We'll fight every game. All I can promise is that we'll continue fighting and planning longer term. We signed a contract with Ivan for a year and a half. So yes, he is our manager for the next season and we will obviously try to prepare the best possible team for the next season that should be suited to his way of playing football."

Solak understandably does not want to accept relegation. Despite the reality seeming realistic and even inevitable to some of us, Solak obviously hired Juric with the belief that he can steer a sinking ship to safety.

However, how quickly Juric can steer the ship remains to be seen. As far as fans are concerned, it would ideally be as soon as possible.

Nevertheless, I can definitely see where Solak is coming from. From the board's perspective, it would've been unwise to expect anything more than avoiding relegation. While it was a goal, it was always an ambitious goal.

Therefore, if Juric were to be judged solely on whether he avoided relegation with Southampton, it would be incredibly unfair for the Croatian manager. There are other factors which should be considered. For example, the style of football he is implementing and how players have reacted to him over time.