Ivan Juric leaves Southampton as the worst manager in Premier League history | OneFootball

Southampton have sacked manager Ivan Juric after a disastrous run that culminated in the club’s relegation from the Premier League with a record-breaking seven games left to play.

Sunday’s 3-1 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur was the final nail in Southampton’s coffin.

Juric took over in December after Southampton sent Russell Martin packing. Coincidentally, Martin’s exit also came after a thrashing against Spurs, but Juric’s tenure unravelled in record speed.

The Croat tactician won just two games in his 107 days in charge of the Saints, but only one of them came in the Premier League – a 2-1 win at Ipswich Town.

His only other success came in the third round of the FA Cup when the Saints thrashed Championship side Swansea City 2-0 at St Mary’s.

However, since the narrow win against Ipswich at the start of February, Southampton have gone winless in eight games (L7).

Juric leaves Southampton with a shocking points-per-game average of just 0.29, the lowest of any manager to oversee 10+ Premier League matches in over three decades.

The Croat’s spell at the helm is now the 11th-shortest stint in Premier League history, lasting only one day longer than Claudio Ranieri’s ill-fated spell at Fulham.

After parting ways with Juric, Southampton confirmed that first-team coach Simon Rusk will take over as interim manager until the summer.

Juric’s backroom staff have also been axed, so former Saints midfielder Adam Lallana will join Rusk’s set-up.

“Ivan came to Southampton at a tough time and was tasked with trying to improve a squad in a difficult situation,” Southampton’s statement read.

“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.”

Southampton are now teetering on the brink of infamy.

Saints need two points from the final seven games, or they could become the worst team in Premier League history, toppling Derby County’s 2007/08 side.