The bookies wasted no time in opening the books on Mauricio Pellegrino's replacement, but ho accurate are they going to be.

First name being mentioned is Marco Silva, although with rumours rife that he is lined up to replace Sam Allardyce at Everton in the summer, it is likely that Saints might gamble on Silva as a short term option to lead them to safety allowing for a more thorough search in the summer.

Another favourite with the bookmakers although not neccessarily the fans is Mark Hughes, certainly Hughes knows what is needed to drag a team clear of relegation and has a lot of experience, however his reputation for putting out physical teams does not make him a favourite with the fans who would question as to whether Saints have a physical enough squad for him to be able to implement his usual tactics.

Slavan Bilic is probably third favourite, he was highly rated for a while at West Ham and lead them to 7th and 11th in his two full seasons, but clearly this season there have been issues at the Hammers and he seemed to have lost the faith of the owners.

After that the candidates get a bit less of an attraction, Gordon Strachan would be an outside punt for Saints fans who think that their side lack fitness and passion, something that Strachan seemed to instill in his side when he joined the club in 2001.

Then is the real outsiders, Brendan Rodgers is being mentioned even Martin O'Neil and Harry Redknapp, strangely also Frank De Boer, but most of these merely because they have been in the frame before.

Perhaps it could be a real coup, someone like Thomas Tuchel, linked with the club before and still out of work, perhaps this could be something that appeals to hi.

One thing is for sure Saints have to do something fast, there is noone at the club with the credentials and experience to manage the team, Kelvin Davis and Raidi Jaidhi have been mentioned but neither have the track record and the job needs someone who has been there and done it at the highest level.

Hopefully Saints have not fired Pellegrino without being fairly sure they have his successor lined up, but then again this is Saints !

Photo: Action Images

saintstuinoz added 23:40 - Mar 12 I'd be happy with Silva or Hughes (and delighted with Tuchel). Dour as Mark Hughes is, he is well connected and respected so would be able to attract some top players here, and is unlikely to walk out on us (except for Man U, but that is a long way off). Silva seems a decent manager, but the concern is what happened at Watford and if he's going to wait for the Everton role. I think Tuchel will wait for a bigger role, and I can't see Strachan coming in, nor Rodgers or O'Neill. I don't rate Bilic at all and although De Boer is a possibility, his reputation is in tatters after Inter and Palace, so don't think we'd gamble on him. I really cannot imagine Eddie Howe walking out on Bournemouth mid-season, to join us, especially when they're likely to finish above us. Koeman has the Dutch job now, so no chance of him (although I'd love him back). Personally I'd take Nigel Adkins, but can't see it happening. With respect to both, I just hope we don't gamble on putting Kelvin Davis or Raidi Jahdi in charge as a cheap option. Whenever we've tried that in the past it has backfired spectacularly. Outside bet, Louis Van Gaal on short-term contract, with extension if we stay up...

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KriSaint added 00:00 - Mar 13 No surprise that Silva is the bookmakers´ favourite. I really don´t know what to think of him after he got himself sacked at Watford. He is not on my short list. I prefer a british, experienced manager.
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BoondockSaint added 00:11 - Mar 13 Not a fan of Hughes. We may have the same problem as when Puel left: Well respected managers will want assurances from the board about having a big say in signings and having the money to go after them.
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trampslykeus added 00:30 - Mar 13 Mark Hughes for me. Experienced manager. Enough rep as a player to get respect from the players. And wouldn't take lip from the players. Old enough to not have a career ruined by a relegation. Also a cv not to be ruined by a relegation caused by only 8 games to achieve the impossible.
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Jesus_02 added 00:46 - Mar 13 i don't want it ... but over the summer Gary Monk was rumoured to have met with the board
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Chesham_Saint added 01:06 - Mar 13 Martin O’Neil would be my first choice. He did very well at most of his clubs apart from Sumderland which was an almost impossible task.
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sausageofsaints added 01:13 - Mar 13 Glenn Hoddle all day!!
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richardmdcooper added 01:29 - Mar 13 Potter for me but can’t see it happening. Silva will do. Frankly, anyone is better than mp
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davepid added 06:54 - Mar 13 Now that Man City will win the league in the next game or two perhaps Guardiola could manage us as well .
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landsdownsaint added 07:03 - Mar 13 Get big Lawrie back !
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helpineedsomebody added 07:06 - Mar 13 if the owner has told reed& krueger to get ride of mp then there positions are untenable & they should resign 1st thing this morning. if i had to make a decision i would go for L V GAAL OR BRENDON RODGERS OR GLEN HODDLE ON A SHORT TERM CONTRACT
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highfield49 added 07:54 - Mar 13 My guess would be Mark Hughes, even though he wouldn't be at the top of my candidate list. That said, he would certainly be an improvement on what we've just had and it's unlikely that any top managers are in the frame. An outside bet for me would be Andre Villas-Boas if he's still not found a club after his Chinese managerial stint.
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skiptonsaint added 08:27 - Mar 13 Hughes for me Rogers as an outsider Hughes would shake em up for last 10 games and if we did go down get some players in who could handle the championship Ex saints and available but didn’t buy especially well at Stoke (Berahino ?) but not so much of an issue with our transfer set up Strachan feels a bit too old school for me. Bilic as back up I suppose.
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saintfrance added 08:47 - Mar 13 Seem to be lots of options re; manager but for me we urgently need a leader on the pitch, yes SD is a nice guy and Ireland captain but lets be honest most and certainly the top 6 prem sides could beat them. So who else in the team has the go get and organisation to be captain ? nobody.
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LordDZLucan added 09:02 - Mar 13 We need somebody to do a job for 8 games. We can then worry about next season when it comes. That person has to be able to have an instant impact on the team which, for me, means that it has to be Marco Silva since he managed to galvanise Hull last season from the moment he arrived.
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KriSaint added 09:06 - Mar 13 Having thought on nothing else than who´s going to take over from MoPe since his sacking was announced last night, and after having not closed an eye all night, I have come to think, that we would be best off with Marco Silva or Gordon Strachan. I thought Hughes did a good job at Blackburn 10-12 years ago....., but he has been shite for Stoke this season. He´s third on my list now. 4. Hoddle, 5. Keegan, 6. Pearson

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aceofthebase added 09:17 - Mar 13 It's too late in the season to think about a long term manager even if there is one available. What is needed is a strong short term manager who can keep us in the premiership. He needs to have a big sharp boot to kick it up the backsides of our lethargic players. He should be able to predict lottery numbers and be highly amusing at press conferences even if we lose.

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EvertonSaint added 09:26 - Mar 13 Some of the proposed names above would be a step backwards. Hughes will have a very negative response from the fans. It must be a positive appointment.
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SanMarco added 09:28 - Mar 13 The biggest moan at MP was his tactics so we need a supreme tactician who can jump straight in and have us up and running vs West Ham. When I look at the various suggestions I would actually say, prat though he is, that Hoddle meets that better than anyone. It is very romantic to talk of WGS but KriSaint's accurate dismissal of Hughes works equally well for Strachan. It was , after all, Hoddle's team that WGS had a few months of success with before walking out on us. O'Neill has usually been a decent manager and it might suit the ego of Silva to keep us up. Also Bilic was pretty good at Upton Park. They are talking 'long-term' though so I don't expect anything exciting as 'long-term' may well mean second division next season - can't see Tuchel signing up for that. This would have been an ideal 3 month contract for "Big Sam"... My fear is summed up very well in Nick's last line: We would hope that RK and co had someone already lined up " but then again this is Saints !"

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saintkev added 10:00 - Mar 13 There's only one man for this. He plays 2 up front. He will play to our strengths The Fans love him. He will get everyone behind him and the team straight away He loves us. He shops at Tesco's in Bursledon Gordon Strachan Top Man
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DorsetIan added 10:14 - Mar 13 The odds on Hughes have lengthened slightly this morning and I'm really hoping that he is not the man. Prepared to concede that he has good qualities and some history as a good manager but he is also coming to us straight off the back of a failure to do exactly what we want him to do now (i.e. turn it around at Stoke). And don't forget that his last game was Stoke's defeat away at Coventry - a team that currently aren't in the L2 play offs. I really worry that he wouldn't be enough to (a) get the fans excited and (b)really inspire the players to better things. And give it a couple of games of same old same old from him too and the fans would be on his back very quickly and blaming Reed for appointing a failing manager. Smacks a bit too much like West Brom's appointment of Pardew to me.

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AirFlorida added 10:30 - Mar 13 I remember all of Strachan's players because they fought and played a bit too. He is the ONLY manager I've felt confident being 1 nil up with 10 to go. His teams saw games out!
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redwight added 10:33 - Mar 13 Silva for me until the end of the season, with the offer of a king's ransom if he keeps us up. Then think again when we know what league we will be in. If he has the same impact he initially had with Hull, then we will be OK. Remember they were in a far more hopeless position (bottom) than we currently are when he took over.
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AirFlorida added 10:36 - Mar 13 BTW.. If people can forgive (I would) I'd have Hoddle back. Forgot his crack pot life, best (recent) manager England's had and did well for us until he f**ked it up! Probably been out too long though. But imagine his influence on tadic.. Tadic with a mullet.. 😉
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pintsizedsaint added 10:36 - Mar 13 This is a good article - sums it up for me https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2018/mar/13/southampton-mauricio-pelle
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