Southampton have confirmed the end of Ivan Juric’s short, unsuccessful spell as manager after their record-breaking relegation was confirmed on Sunday.
Last season’s Championship play-off winners have sunk without a trace this term, with Sunday’s 3-1 loss at Tottenham confirming their return to the second tier with seven matches to spare.
No Premier League team’s fate has ever been sealed so early and Saints swiftly announced the departure of Juric, who managed just one Premier League win after signing an 18-month deal to succeed Russell Martin in December.
We have today reached an agreement with our Men’s First Team Manager, Ivan Jurić, to end his spell at the club.
— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) April 7, 2025
Simon Rusk has been appointed interim manager, just as he was in December, and will be assisted for the remaining seven games by homegrown midfielder Adam Lallana.
Southampton said in a statement: “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.”
