Ivan Jurić has left Southampton with immediate effect, the club announced in a statement today.
The South Coast side are in 20th position in the Premier League, with only 10 points picked up from 31 games.
Jurić’s tenure saw only one win in the league out of a potential 14, a 2-1 win over Ipswich at the start of February.
A solitary draw versus Crystal Palace was the only other time he saw his side pick up points, while his only other win came in an FA Cup victory over Swansea late last year.
Simon Rusk has been appointed as caretaker manager, with ex-Southampton midfielder Adam Lallana set to be his assistant.
Tough season for Saints supporters
The club acknowledged their struggles in their press release today, stating:
“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.”
Southampton struggled to ever get going following their promotion from the Championship – a season in which they finished fourth and were promoted via a playoff final against Leeds.
Fans were not particularly overjoyed with the business conducted following the summer transfer window at the start of this season – headliners included talented goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, bought in from Arsenal, forward Cameron Archer, joining from Aston Villa, while Sporting allowed youngster Mateus Fernandes to move to the Saints for just over £12.5 million.
While Ramsdale has proved his competence, Southampton have still conceded 74 goals in the league so far and that has been despite improvements to the defence, with Taylor Harwood-Bellis moving from Manchester City and Yukinari Sugawara arriving from AZ Alkmaar.
Neither Archer or Fernandes could stamp their authority in front of goal, with 30-year-old striker Paul Onuachu currently Southampton’s top scorer in the league with four goals.
January recruitment was not enough to get results going, either, as Albert Gronbæk and Wellington, signed from Stade Rennais and São Paulo respectively, have played under 400 league minutes since signing at the start of the year, while Joachim Kayi Sanda, signed from Valenciennes for a little under £5 million, has not made a single appearance.
Jurić arrived in December after previous manager Russell Martin was sacked and failed to get the Saints’ season going, ultimately failing to secure the lofty aspiration of keeping Southampton in the Premier League.
Southampton’s next game will be at home to Aston Villa on the 12th of April.