Southampton sack boss Nathan Jones with team rooted to bottom of Premier League

Southampton manager Nathan Jones looks on prior to the Premier League match between Southampton and Wolverhampton Wanderers at St Mary's in Southampton, United Kingdom on 11 February, 2023.
(Image credit: Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

Southampton have sacked Nathan Jones after barely three months as manager, after Saturday's 2-1 defeat to Wolves left them three points adrift at the foot of the Premier League.

The Saints had led at St Mary's and spent most of the game with an extra man following Mario Lemina's first-half red card – but they couldn't make their numerical advantage count.

And that proved to be the final straw for the South Coast club, who announced Jones' departure on Sunday morning.

Former Luton Town boss Jones was appointed just before the World Cup, succeeding Ralph Hasenhuttl, but was unable to transform the struggling Saints' fortunes.

Despite delivering a memorable Carabao Cup quarter-final win over Manchester City, Jones lost seven of his eight league games in charge – with the sole victory coming away to Everton last month.

Frustrated fans quickly turned on the Welshman, whose Southampton tenure was one of the shortest in Premier League history at 92 days.

Tom Hancock

Tom Hancock started freelancing for FourFourTwo in April 2019 and has also written for the Premier League and Opta Analyst, among others. He supports Wycombe Wanderers and has a soft spot for Wealdstone. A self-confessed statto, he has been known to watch football with a spreadsheet (or several) open...