The rumour mill started slowly this Friday morning, but it then sped up quite quickly with sources claiming that Saints have agreed terms with whom they hope will be their next manager and the deal could be done today.

The man is question is Ivan Jurić who was recently sacked by Roma, the man breaking the news is Fabrizio Romano and Italian football journalist who has a big reputation for having his finger on the pulse when it comes to transfers and managerial changes across Europe.

He has said on his X account

"Fabrizio Romano
@FabrizioRomano
🚨🔴⚪️ Southampton have agreed deal to appoint Ivan Jurić as new head coach to replace Russell Martin.

Contract set to be signed today.

Verbal agreement in place on contract terms; formally working on exit terms from AS Roma.

Ivan Jurić said yes to Saints FC, Röhl won’t join."

This perhaps wont be welcomed by Southampton supporters, in this horrible season where the club have lurched to a position at the bottom of the Premier League that could have been avoided if Russell Martin had not turned out to be stubborn and refuse to adapt his tactics, the fans are looking for a name they have heard of, a man with Premier League experience.

We at The Ugly Inside revealed that Juric was in the frame on Tuesday and suggested that his managerial record was not one that would excite the Saints supporters.

But it seems that this deal could now be done sometime today.

If it is done then we have to look on the positive side of things, surely he cannot be worse that the way our former manager stuck to his own agenda rather than looked to save Saints from relegation.

It could work if Juric is appointed alongside a good assistant, someone who has a good knowledge of the Premier League, this was the case when Ronald Koeman was appointed back in 2014, Sammy Lee a man with a record in the top flight of English football since the late 1970's both as a player and a manager was brought in alongside him and it meant that Koeman succeeded at St Mary's as he had an assistant who knew the teams, the players and the managers.

I would suggest that this is crucial if Juric is the man, he needs someone that the players know and respect.

Photo: Action Images

Fisk27 added 09:36 - Dec 20 Sorry I try to find anything positive in this but I can't. His track record is awful including playing style! What are they thinking?!?
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sandywelsh added 09:41 - Dec 20 He doesn't sound good . If he was why did he only last for 12 games at Roma? Looks like we have gone for the Cheap route again!!!!!
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allsaint54 added 10:00 - Dec 20 Is this the best that SR can come up with. No PL experience, no track record at all. I bet he's the cheapest manager available, definitely relegation now even though there wasn't much doubt before. May as well have kept RM & saved 12 million.
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Rossm2006 added 10:02 - Dec 20 Poch had a win % of 32% , spoke no English and didn’t have an experienced assistant. I guess you would have turned him down too.
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Fisk27 added 10:29 - Dec 20 No wrong, I was positive to Poch, you can't compare Poch to this bloke, Poch had already build up a reputation for focusing on youngsters and had a clear philosphy on how football was to be played with high pressure being one the elements and was young and upcoming. This bloke has literally nothing to show for other than boring football. The only slight positive I found in this is that he will most likely better our defence. But having said that I'm a bit shocked how SR conduct business if the rumour today is true that they didn't want to pay any compensation.......

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Saidou added 10:48 - Dec 20 I will welcome him with open arms. He can’t be worse than RM. Most fans were negative when we signed Manolo Gabbiadini but he turned out a savior. Leicester fans were not excited when C.Ranieri was appointed but it turned out their best ever decision. Cortese was termed “mad” was firing Nigel Atkins and bringing in unknown Poch. We still dream to have Poch back. This new Manager may turned out to be what we exactly need. We are already in the worst ever imaginable position. It can’t get worse than this. It can only get better. So Go on grab a cup of coffee and have some long overdue smiles.

5

obelisk added 10:53 - Dec 20 Not sure what people are expecting. Saints are miles adrift at the bottom of the EPL and not a currently attractive proposition to any decent coach. It was probably a case of prospective managers interviewing Saints and rejecting them rather than the other way round.
1

JoeEgg added 11:02 - Dec 20 Sports Republic have had weeks or even months to prepare for this decision. If they hadn't wasted so much time on Russell Martin we could have acquired a half decent replacement. I'm sure the players will be really excited to learn thechoice of manager - Dibling in particular. I guess the truth is nobody wanted the Saints job - it pains me to say it but can you blame them!

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IanRC added 11:05 - Dec 20 My money is on Sports Republik having kept up their record of appointing useless managers, Ankersson really needs to go. I hope I'm wrong and that the likes of Tyler dibling can be persuaded to stay but I have to say I'm not optimistic.COYS.
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A1079 added 11:47 - Dec 20 Hopefully and before judgement can be passed, this appointment will ultimately prove to be a stroke of genius. I think we all have doubts but we will equally want to be proved wrong. But, if ultimately it proves to be the wrong decision, I think it is SR that needs to be placed under pressure. But, lets see. Fingers crossed and all that.
4

bartley41 added 12:09 - Dec 20 Not too confident, not a good track record by SR after Nathan Jones, Reuben Selles and R.M but if life you have to cut your Coat according to your cloth! Not much cloth available after unwise spending unwisely in the transfer market, example Ross Stewart.
3

halftimeorange added 12:18 - Dec 20 Perhaps the new man will try playing Onuachu and Archer together with two dedicated wingers. I wish someone would as Tall Paul has no-one to nod down to and Cameron has no-one to feed off. It seems an obvious experiment to me - remember Niall Quinn and Kevin Phillips at Sunderland and there are plenty more similar examples, Kane and Son, anyone.
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Centurion added 12:19 - Dec 20 A bit of a punt into the unknown. Time will tell how this works out.
1

Boris1977 added 12:36 - Dec 20 Sounds like another stab in the dark but it reflects where the club is. As others have said above he can't be as bad as RM
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Bowlercow added 12:39 - Dec 20 If reports a correct then there is a 6 month option so he could go at the end of the season
2

SusanBellew added 12:48 - Dec 20 I was disheartened too initially but I found 2 articles that sound quite encouraging. They are worth a read. https://breakingthelines.com/tactical-analysis/ivan-jurics-torino-the-fun-side-o https://totalfootballanalysis.com/team-analysis/torinodc-202122-their-man-orient
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DellBoyWally added 13:10 - Dec 20 At least Susan B has looked him up, like me! Top 10 finishes in La Liga with unfancied teams, 5 in succession with Valencia. His last post, Roma, perennial failures, just wanted to fail again so he departed. We could have done much worse - Steve Cooper anyone?
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no7saint added 13:11 - Dec 20 The BBC says he's "known for his heavy metal style of play", so the eternal optimist in me is hoping for a Klopp-type energy! Guess we'll find out. Looks like Rohl didn't want it which is a shame as I thought he'd be a good long term fit. But we can only get behind him and hope for the best. COYR
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IanRC added 13:35 - Dec 20 HTO my thoughts too.
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JoeEgg added 13:48 - Dec 20 Good luck to the guy. He's never been outside of Italy so presumably he knows the Premier League clubs well. How on earth can he select a team when he hasn't ever watched any of our massive squad? We need results to improve quickly so maybe he will just play by numbers? you have to admire Spôrts Republic - they certainly know how to inspire confidence!!
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Saintandy66 added 15:16 - Dec 20 Whoooʻooo total joke appointment
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ItchenNorth added 17:38 - Dec 20 Good to see that some are so quick to judge, even before a ball has even been kicked 🙄
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