Premier League strugglers Southampton have appointed former Roma manager Ivan Juric as the permanent replacement for Russell Martin.
Martin was dismissed following a 5-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur at St Mary’s last Sunday. Interim manager Simon Rusk oversaw a narrow 2-1 loss to Liverpool in the midweek Carabao Cup quarter-final, but now the club has announced Juric as their new head coach.
“I’m very pleased,” Juric said upon his appointment on Southampton’s official website. “I think it’s a really big challenge, but I’m optimistic because I saw a team that can do better.”
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The 49-year-old Croatian has spent his entire senior coaching career in Italy. After a successful two-year stint at Hellas Verona, Juric guided Torino to three consecutive mid-table finishes. He parted ways with Torino in the summer and lasted just eight games at Roma before being replaced by Claudio Ranieri in November.
A heavy metal enthusiast, Juric is known for instilling an aggressive, high-intensity style of play in his teams, and he will have plenty of work ahead of him on the south coast. “It’s important to immediately connect with the fans,” he said. “I want an aggressive team, and I think the fans of Southampton will like that.”
On his playing philosophy, Juric added: “I want us to be more aggressive, to press more, and we need to quickly change our mentality because this is my idea of football.”
Interim boss Rusk is expected to remain in charge for Southampton’s Premier League match against Fulham on Sunday. Regardless of the result, Juric will inherit a team at the bottom of the Premier League table.