(Football news) The Saints are all set to appoint Russell Martin as their new manager as the 37-year-old will replace current boss Ruben Selles and might be in attendance against Liverpool. Former Swansea boss Russell Martin has agreed to take over as Southampton boss as he prepares to take them in the Championship next season and hopefully win back promotion
The Saints turned to Martin after Manchester City assistant Enzo Maresca turned the role down. Martin had verbally agreed to take the role earlier this week which means Southampton agreed to pay £400,000 for the compensation. The Saints are expected to have to pay further more to bring Martin’s coaching staff also. He apparently postponed a trip to the US where he was going to discuss a contract extension with the Swansea American owners. Southampton suffered from a dismal season and were relegated from the Premier League for the first time since the 2004-05 season, and only their third time from the top-flight overall as they spent 11th consecutive in the top flight.
Pep Guardiola’s assistant manager, Enzo Maresca, was the other candidate for the Southampton job, but he decided that he wants to work with Pep Guardiola for at least one season before taking up the lead role. Martin’s Swansea ended the Championship season strongly where they were subsequently unbeaten in nine games . For Southampton they had three different managers this season and none of them even managed three league wins with Ralph Hasenhuttl, Nathan Jones and Selles all failing to find a way to win games.
Martin’s CV may not be the most glamorous but his managerial career kicked off in 2019 as he took over MK Dons just one year after retiring from football at the age of 33 while playing for them. The Scotsman went on to spend two years with the Dons and impressed everyone when he won 31 out of 80 matches. The former centre-back then went on to join Swansea in 2021 where he has won 36 out 99 games but he helped develop a lot of young talent during his tenure.
The club confirmed that Selles would not be continuing in his role. A statement read: “Southampton Football Club can confirm that it has held conversations with Men’s First Team Manager, Ruben Selles, and decided that his contract will not be renewed when it expires at the end of the season. The club wants to place on record its thanks to Ruben for taking on the managerial position at a difficult time for the club and for giving his all as we attempted to stay in the Premier League. Ruben will take charge of the team for the final game against Liverpool on Sunday at St Mary’s. We wish him all the best for his future career.”
Also read: Ruud Van Nistelrooy resigns as the manager of PSV Eindhoven with immediate effect
