Jones succeeds Hasenhuttl as Southampton boss on contract through to 2026

• Change in the dugout at St Mary's
• Response to disappointing run of form
• Highly-rated coach brought in from Luton

WHAT HAPPENED? A change in the dugout has been made at St Mary’s just 14 games into the 2022-23 Premier League campaign. Hasenhuttl was relieved of his duties, after almost four years at the helm, with just 12 points on the board and a standing taken up inside the relegation zone.

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Jones has been drafted in after impressing across two spells in charge of Luton Town, with the Hatters guided to the Championship play-offs last season.

WHAT THEY SAID: Jones has told Southampton’s official website: “I’m really proud to be given this opportunity. I know a lot about the club from back in the days of The Dell, to coming here to St Mary’s, and it’s a wonderful football club. A lot of my family are Southampton fans, which doesn’t half help, and I feel really, really proud to be given the opportunity, and I’m really looking forward to getting started. Obviously, I wanted to manage in the Premier League, I’ve dreamt of that since I’ve become a coach or a manager, but this club in particular – because of how it’s run, because of the structure, because of how they look deeper than just results – really appeals to me.”

IN THREE PHOTOS:

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WHAT NEXT FOR SOUTHAMPTON? Jones will be joined at St Mary’s by first-team coaches Chris Cohen and Alan Sheehan, with his first game at the helm set to be a testing trip to Liverpool on Saturday – with that match taking the Saints into the World Cup break.