Ivan Juric announced as new Southampton manager to replace Russell Martin
Updated 21/12/2024 at 18:08 GMT
Ivan Juric has been announced as Southampton's new head coach, the club have confirmed. The 49-year-old Croatian joins on an initial 18-month contract, which is set to be reviewed in the summer depending on the club's Premier League status. Juric has recently managed Genoa, Hellas Verona and Torino. He had a short stint at AS Roma before being sacked after just two months in charge.
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Southampton have announced former AS Roma manager Ivan Juric as their new head coach on an 18-month deal.
Juric, 49, replaces Russell Martin who was dismissed from his role after 17 months in charge, with the South Coast side bottom of the Premier League table.
"I’m very pleased," the incoming Saints manager said. "I think it's a really big challenge but I’m very optimistic because I saw a team that can do better.
"It's important to immediately be connected with the fans. I want an aggressive team and I think that fans of Southampton will like that."
Southampton lost 13 of their opening 16 games under Martin at the start of the 2024/25 season and managed just one win, which came against Everton in a 1-0 triumph at St Mary's Stadium.
It has been reported that there is a "break option" in Juric's contract which will be reviewed in the summer, with the Croatian set for a two-year extension should the club avoid relegation this season.
Juric's most recent managerial appointment was with Serie A side Roma, where he was dismissed in November after just two months in charge.
He was in the hotseat for 12 games in total, as he guided the club to four wins during a struggling period in which he failed to turn things around after taking over from club legend Daniele De Rossi.
At the time of Juric's departure, Roma were 20th in the UEFA Europa League table and four points from the Serie A drop zone.
However, Saints are understood to be long-term admirers of Juric, who was reportedly on the club's list of potential replacements for former boss Ralph Hasenhuttl in 2022.
Before his underwhelming stint at the Stadio Olimpico, Juric had three separate spells at Genoa, before he impressed at newly promoted Serie A side Hellas Verona.
Despite fronting a club with one of the smallest budgets in the league, he guided his side to successive top-10 finishes, coming ninth and 10th in 2019/20 and 2020/21 respectively, before he was released from his contract.
Then came a spell at Torino where he finished in mid-table for three consecutive years, before his short tenure at Roma.
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