According to reports, Ivan Juric has ‘left’ Southampton after their relegation from the Premier League with a ‘break clause’ activated.
Southampton have comfortably been the worst team in the Premier League this season and their relegation was confirmed with seven games remaining on Sunday afternoon.
Sunday’s 3-1 loss at Tottenham Hotspur sealed their fate as they suffered the earliest relegation in Premier League history.
49-year-old Juric – who has previously managed AS Roma, Genoa and Torino – replaced Russell Martin at the end of 2024, penning an 18-month contract.
Southampton’s fortunes have not improved under Juric, who has only won two of his 16 games in charge in all competitions.
READ: Wretched Southampton fire themselves into list of earliest Premier League relegations ever
At the time of writing, Southampton have not announced Juric’s exit, but various outlets are reporting that he has ‘left’ the Premier League strugglers.
Sky Sports claim the ‘relegation release clause’ was to be ‘reviewed at the end of the season’, but his exit has been pushed forward.
‘Sky Sports News understands Simon Rusk will take the team until the end of the season.
‘Rusk took charge briefly when Russell Martin, Juric’s predecessor, left St Mary’s. Adam Lallana will also be involved in the new set-up.
‘The Southampton players were told on Monday morning, with Juric’s backroom staff also leaving the club.’
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Journalist Ben Jacobs has also reported on Juric’s exit. He has named two potential long-term replacements for Southampton heading into their return to the Championship.
Jacobs said: “Ivan Juric will be replaced by Simon Rusk as interim manager until the end of the season. Adam Lallana will act as his assistant.
“Juric’s departure to be confirmed imminently. Danny Rohl high in Southampton’s thinking.
“Liam Rosenior another name appreciated, but BlueCo have no intention to lose him, and Strasbourg are fighting for #UCL.”
After the loss vs Spurs, Juric urged Southampton to learn from their relegation: “We know it’s a tough moment, a bad moment. But in another way I think the future of Southampton will be great, with the fans.
“We are relegated but they have showed a lot to their club, to the players they have, and I think it has to be really motivating for everybody to create something really good – much stronger than we created this year.
“I arrived from another world – Italy, Spain, Croatia – it’s completely the other mentality. It’s something great, respect. Our fans, all this season, a bad season, they were exceptional.
“We are disappointed. It has to be a big school for everything – for us, for me, for the players, for the club – to see what we did wrong.
“What went wrong? Did we give everything that we can in this one year, or can we do some things better? It has to be a big school for everybody.”
