Southampton reached the fifth round of the FA Cup but remain bottom of the Premier League table. Kieran Cleeves/PA Images/Getty Images
Southampton parted ways with manager Nathan Jones on Sunday after the Welshman won only one Premier League game during his three-month tenure at the south-coast club.
Jones is the second Saints manager to lose his job this season after the former Luton Town boss was appointed in November as Ralph Hasenhuttl’s replacement.
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Southampton reached the fifth round of the FA Cup and the semifinals of the Carabao Cup, but the club failed to get out of the relegation zone in the Premier League and remain rooted at the bottom of the table.
“Southampton Football Club can confirm it has parted company with men’s first team manager Nathan Jones. First team coaches Chris Cohen and Alan Sheehan have also left the club,” the club said in a statement.
In their last eight league games, Southampton’s sole victory came against a similarly struggling Everton last month.
Jones’s last game in charge was Saturday’s defeat by 10-man Wolverhampton Wanderers who came back from a goal down to win 2-1 to leave the Saints on 15 points in 22 games, four points from safety.
Jones’ sacking was the culmination of poor form and bizarre excuses that earned him no favours. He was also on borrowed time after failing to win over the supporters at St Mary’s Stadium.
After a 3-0 defeat at Brentford earlier this month, the 49-year-old was heavily criticised for saying he had compromised on his style of management due to fan pressure. He said he had not put his stamp on the team but had instead pandered to his players.
He eventually accepted responsibility for their performances but the damage was done as the atmosphere at the ground turned toxic with fans chanting: “You don’t know what you’re doing” and “Get out of our club.”
Southampton said first team lead coach Ruben Selles will take charge of training and prepare the squad for next Saturday’s game against Chelsea.