5 possible managers to take over at Southampton in the summer
Southampton parted ways with Mauricio Pellegrino after only nine months at the helm. The Argentine manager was appointed last summer to take charge of the Saints after current Leicester City Manager Claude Puel was unceremoniously sacked even after guiding the Saints to an eighth-place finish.
However, things did not go as expected for the former Deportivo Alaves manager during his time at St Mary's. Coming from a stunning season where he guided minnows Alaves to a 9th place La Liga finish, Mauricio Pellegrino only managed a pitiful 5 wins, 13 draws and 12 losses in 30 Premier League matches as Southampton manager.
At the time of his dismissal, the team had dropped into the bottom three on the table after suffering a humiliating defeat against relegation fighting Newcastle United. The Saints hierarchy acted quickly to appoint former Stoke City boss Mark Hughes to be their manager on a short-term contract for the remainder of the season.
Hughes has a huge task of keeping Southampton in the Premier League for another season with seven matches left.
At the end of the season, the Saints will be in search of a new manager to take over permanently and here is a look at top five managers who the Southampton hierarchy would consider appointing:
#5 Marco Silva
He has had an illustrious career as a young manager. The Portuguese guided Estoril to the Portuguese top flight in his first task as a manager in 2011 and later guided the club to a historic fourth-place finish in his last season in charge.
After spending three sensational years at Estoril, he took over at Sporting Lisbon in 2014. In his first season in charge, Silva guided the club to a third-place finish crowning it with a Taça de Portugal glory.
Silva's adventurous managerial career continued when he took over as manager of Greek giants Olympiacos in 2015. He guided the Greek team to their 43rd league title in his first season in charge but later resigned citing personal reasons.
The young Portuguese manager has had spells with two Premier League teams; Hull City and Watford. He could not prevent the former from being relegated but achieved an amazing feat by defeating English giants Manchester United in the FA Cup and Liverpool in the league.
His Premier League experience with both Hull City and Watford plus his mentality exhibited at Estoril, Sporting Lisbon, and Olympiacos is a clear show of his coaching pedigree and he can bring back the stability that Southampton have missed since Ronald Koeman's departure.
Marcos Silva's preference for a 3-4-3 formation which utilises powerful wingbacks would be a plus for him at Southampton as they have quality wing-backs in Cedric Soares and Ryan Bertrand who can fit the bill for the Portuguese manager.