Southampton have sacked manager Will Still following a disastrous start to the season.
The Saints only appointed Still in May, which came after the 33-year-old had gained rave reviews for his work with Reims and Lens in France’s Ligue 1.
However, the move hasn’t worked out and Still’s side are 21st in the Championship following Saturday’s 2-0 defeat at home to Preston, a third loss in a row. They have just 12 points from 13 games despite being tipped as one of the promotion favourites.
In a club statement released on Sunday evening, Southampton said: ‘Southampton Football Club can confirm that we have this evening parted ways with Men’s First Team Manager Will Still.
‘Ruben Martinez, Clement Lemaitre and Carl Martin have also left their positions at the club. Men’s Under-21s Head Coach Tonda Eckert will take charge of the team on an interim basis.’
Saints technical director Johannes Spors added: ‘Will is a great person who gave everything to try and improve performances and results.
‘Ultimately that process has taken longer than any of us would have liked. By making a change now we believe it gives us the best chance of turning things around this season and climbing back up the league table.
‘I would like to thank Will, Ruben, Clement and Carl for their efforts and wish them well for the future.’
Still, who was the youngest manager in the EFL, won just two of his 13 league games in charge, and despite significant investment in the summer he failed to turn around Southampton’s fortunes following last season’s relegation.
He also becomes the third Saints boss to be sacked within the past 11 months after both Russell Martin and Ivan Juric were dispensed with last season.
Following Saturday’s defeat by Preston at St Mary’s, home fans had chanted that Still was getting ‘sacked in the morning’ – and loud boos greeted the final whistle.
Nevertheless, Still had pledged to battle on as he said: ‘I’m not going to give up, I’m not going to stop and I’ll keep fighting as long as I have the opportunity to.
‘If I’d got an instant fix I would have found it about a month or two months ago, I don’t think there is an instant fix to be really honest with you and I think whoever it is, there’s a big job and I knew there was a big job coming in here.
‘I said a few weeks ago there were a lot of things that need to change that haven’t changed yet because we haven’t had the time to do that but there’s still evidently a lot of work to do.’
Still went viral a few years ago when he became the youngest manager in Europe’s top five leagues as the boss of Reims at the age of 30.
His journey into coaching was partly inspired by his passion for the video game ‘Football Manager’, which encouraged him to switch his playing career for management when he was 17.
His record of 55 wins in 127 games in the dugout had made him one of the most highly rated young English managers out there before he was appointed by the Saints, which came a year after he almost joined Sunderland.
He resigned from his role with Lens in the summer to be closer to his girlfriend, Sky Sports presenter Emma Saunders, after she underwent a brutal health battle.
Saunders, who regularly hosts Premier League coverage for the broadcasting giant, was treated for thyroid cancer at the start of last season and she was recovering from a brain infection called encephalitis over the summer.
At the time Still admitted he could not bear to be away from Saunders any longer and made the decision to leave his job in France.
‘I needed to be closer to home and ultimately Emma is home,’ Still had said. ‘It is a logical choice for me to be closer to my wife. For her well-being.
‘I won’t be the coach of RC Lens next season. It was the last season at Bollaert, for multiple reasons. The main reason that pushed me to make this decision is the fact that I need to go home. Everyone is well aware of what happened in my life. That’s why.
‘I had a lot of fun, I think we achieved great things despite everything. I’ve been in France for four years, four years that I’ve experienced intense moments.’
