March 15 – Mauricio Pellegrino, the ninth manager to be sacked in the Premier League this season, is to be replaced at Southampton by Mark Hughes, the eighth Premier League manager to be sacked this term.
Saints are now on their fifth manager in five seasons – two were fired (Claude Puel and Pellegrino) while two left for new Premier League clubs (Mauricio Pochettino and Ronald Koeman).
The club, which has had a six-year spell of Premier League security, mostly in the top half of the table, and has qualified for the Europa League twice in that time, currently sit one point above the relegation zone with eight games left in the season.
Hughes takes training today for the first time on the South coast. His first game in charge will be Sunday’s FA Cup quarter final away to giant-killing Championship club Wigan Athletic.
Hughes has agreed a contract lasting only until the end of the season. He will be joined at St Mary’s by Mark Bowen and Eddie Niedzwiecki, who were with him at Stoke City. They will take the roles of Assistant Manager and Assistant First Team Coach respectively alongside existing First Team Assistant Coach Kelvin Davis, Head of Goalkeeping Dave Watson and Head of Sports Science Alek Gross.
Hughes has managed at Blackburn Rovers, Manchester City, Fulham, Queens Park Rangers and most recently Stoke City in the Premier League, taking charge of almost 450 top-flight matches and achieving eight top-ten finishes in his career to date.
Hughes is not new to the Saints, having made 60 appearances as a player near the end of his career.
“It’s a challenge I’m excited by. It’s a great opportunity to come back to a club I know well, and a club I’ve got real affinity with, and I couldn’t turn that down,” said Hughes.
“The objective clearly is to remain in the league and make sure we’re a Premier League club next year. That’s where this club needs to be, that’s where it should be, and that’s our intention to make sure it remains there.”
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