Mauricio Pellegrino sacked by Southampton
Southampton have sacked manager Mauricio Pellegrino, the Premier League club have announced.
Saints lost 3-0 at Newcastle on Saturday and sit just one place and one point above the relegation zone after only claiming one victory in their last 17 Premier League outings.
Former Stoke boss Mark Hughes has been cut from an opening price of 7/1 to the odds-on favourite at 4/11 in Sky Bet's next Southampton manager market during Monday evening.
Hughes made 52 appearances for Saints between 1998 and 2000 before leaving the club for Everton.
Early favourite Marco Silva, who left Watford earlier this season, is second in the odds at 3/1.
Ex-West Ham chief Slaven Bilic is rated as the other potential replacement for Pellegrino at 18/1.
Southampton confirmed Pellegrino's departure in a statement on Monday evening: "Southampton Football Club can today confirm that it has parted company with First Team Manager Mauricio Pellegrino.
"Assistant Manager Carlos Compagnucci and Assistant First Team Coach Xavier Tamarit have also parted company with the club.
"We would like to place on record our thanks to Mauricio, Carlos and Xavier for their efforts during their time with Southampton, and wish them well for the future.
"The club will look to appoint a new management team as soon as possible, with the search for a replacement already underway."
Sky Bet's next Southampton manager odds
- Mark Hughes - 2/7
- Marco Silva - 3/1
- Slaven Bilic - 18/1
- Gordon Strachan - 20/1
- Graham Potter - 20/1
- Kelvin Davis - 20/1
Odds correct at 1430 GMT at 13/03/18
Mark Hughes
Hughes has been out of work since his sacking at Stoke in January. He is a former Saints player, making 52 appearances and scoring two goals for the club between 1998 and 2000. The Welshman helped Stoke to three consecutive ninth-place Premier League finishes in 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16 before progress stalled. His time with the Potters ended following an FA Cup defeat to Sky Bet League Two Coventry and on the back of five defeats in seven Premier League matches - a record which could count against him given Southampton's current predicament.
Marco Silva
An early favourite for the job, Silva made his mark in the Premier League when he arrived in January 2017 and earned plenty of plaudits for his ultimately fruitless attempts to keep Hull in the top flight. The Portuguese was snapped up by Watford last summer and he continued to enhance his reputation at Vicarage Road before having his head turned by Everton, who were looking for a replacement for Ronald Koeman. A poor run of results followed and Watford sacked Silva in January, blaming Everton's approach as the "catalyst for the decision." Could Silva be tempted by another rescue mission at St Mary's?
Slaven Bilic
The Croatian was sacked by West Ham in November 2017 following a poor run of results which culminated in a 4-1 loss at home to Liverpool. However, his first season with the Hammers brought a top-seven finish and with it Europa League qualification. Their European adventure did not last long, however, as they were knocked out by Romanian side FC Astra Giurgiu in the qualifying rounds. They finished mid-table the following season and were in trouble when he left the club. Is he somebody Southampton could take a gamble on?
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