Will Cortese’s exit spark a mark exodus at Southampton?

Who will follow in Cortese’s footsteps and head out?

After a brilliant start to the season that saw them climb up to third place at the start of November, it looks as though the rails have well and truly come off Southampton’s season.

After a dreadful run of fixtures has seen them claim just eight points in their last 10 League games, a run that includes six defeats, the news that executive chairman Nicola Cortese quit his job, on Wednesday, would have been the last thing the Saints would have wanted to hear.

It is a decision that might have dire consequences for the South coast club, who are desperately trying to get their season back on track. That task might just get a lot worse given Cortese’s resignation might well force Mauricio Pochettino to follow suit, given the Argentine’s decision that he wouldn’t consider working at St. Mary’s without the man who recruited him.

Ever since helping Markus Liebherr purchase the club for £14m in 2009, Cortese, has been a key part of the Saints rise from League One to playing in the top-flight, whilst harboring hopes of a Champions League.

But ever since Markus’s death in 2010, Cortese’s relationship with his daughter, Katharina, has been frosty, to say the least. All of it stemmed from the fact that Cortese opposed Katharina’s decision to sell the club immediately after her father’s death.

And, although they came to truce last summer, the difference of opinion with Katharina, whom he claims doesn’t share the same vision for the Saints, has lingered on. That difference of opinion almost led to him walking away from the club last October. In the end, the Italian-Swiss banker stayed on until his resignation was accepted, after lengthy talks between the pair’s legal representatives throughout Wednesday.

All of which now means that Katharina Liebherr has now taken over as non-executive chairwoman and the early signs don’t look too good for the Saints. Whilst, she expressed her regret over Cortese’s decision, her claims that it will be “business as usual” shows that she is far removed from the reality of the situation at hand.

After all, it was only last May that Pochettino said “I would not understand staying in this role if Nicola was not here,” before adding, “The person who actually called me from the start, told me about the project and put the faith in me was Nicola.”

And although Katharina claims that she will continue “to back and support” the manager for the foreseeable future, the truth is that, that future might not be for too long. And whilst he is set to manage this Saturday’s trip to Sunderland, the truth is that, there is no way of knowing for how much longer, he will continue to remain at the club.

In more worrying news for Saints fans, apart from the manager, several key players might well make their way out of Southampton. The truth is that Cortese might well have started a flood of departures from St.Mary’s with his exit having a domino effect on not just the manager, but the players as well.

The highly-rated teenage fullback Luke Shaw, who has attracted interest from Chelsea and both the Manchester clubs, couldn’t control his emotions on Wednesday night, as he tweeted: “Gutted with that news, but would just like to thank Nicola Cortese for everything he has done for me and the club.”

With Cortese’s exit, a flurry of clubs might well look to raid St. Mary’s in the hope of snapping up some great bargains. Top of the list of wanted players, might well be Shaw, who could make his way to either one of three interested clubs in a record-breaking deal for a fullback.

Apart from Shaw, long-time West Ham target Rickie Lambert, might also be on the way out for £7m in January and there are also reports that Manchester United are keen on a double swoop for Adam Lallana and Morgan Schneiderlin. All of which mean that the chairman’s exit might well be the worst thing to happen to the Saints, since their slump to League One in 2009.