Ivan Juric departs as Southampton boss after guiding club to earliest-ever relegation from Premier League

It has been a campaign to forget for the Saints on their return to the top flight after their relegation back into the Championship was confirmed following a 3-1 loss to Tottenham on Sunday. Juric's side became the earliest team to suffer the drop in Premier League history, and as a result, the head coach has been given his marching orders.

Juric was drafted in as a replacement for Russell Martin in December with the hope of steering the Saints to safety, but the 49-year-old has managed just one win since taking charge and has not been able to utilise his squad, which includes the likes of Aaron Ramsdale, Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Kyle Walker-Peters.

Speaking after relegation was confirmed, Juric reflected on the sensation, saying: "For me, this is something completely new, a new experience. I said to the players they have to be really thankful that they have fans like this.

"It is something incredible the way they love their team even though we were relegated. They really deserve much more. It’s another type of culture [to Italy]. They show love in this moment; it is a great thing in English culture, Southampton culture."

The Saints released a statement on Monday morning confirming Juric's departure. It said: "We can confirm that we have today reached an agreement with our Men’s First Team Manager, Ivan Juric, to end his spell at the club.

"Ivan came to Southampton at a tough time and was tasked with trying to improve a squad in a difficult situation. Unfortunately, we haven’t seen performances progress the way we had hoped, but we would like to thank Ivan and his staff for their honesty and hard work as they fought against the odds to try and keep us up.

"With relegation to the Championship now confirmed, we believe it is important to give fans, players and staff some clarity on the future as we head into a very important summer.

"The process of finding a new manager to lead us as we look to secure an immediate return to the Premier League has now begun and is being led by Group Technical Director Johannes Spors.

"We remain incredibly grateful for the ongoing support of our fans. Their continued dedication and passion, despite what has been a very tough season, is remarkable and is appreciated by everyone at the club.

"Despite the challenges that relegation will bring, our goal is to restore a sense of pride for them in their team and club once again."

With seven games still to go in the season, the painful rebuilding process will begin without Juric. Southampton remain on 10 points but will be keen to pick up a few more before their time in the Premier League officially comes to an end in May, Simon Rusk has been named as interim boss with former Saint Adam Lallana set to assist him.