Southampton face three London sides before the end of the year with Fulham, West Ham and Crystal Palace up next.
Southampton are on the verge of appointing Ivan Juric as their next manager following Russell Martin’s dismissal this week. The Croat was most recently the manager of Roma, who fired him in November after only 12 games in charge and will make his Premier League debut.
Former West Ham manager David Moyes and current Sheffield Wednesday manager Danny Rohl were tipped as frontrunners for the job at St Mary’s, but the south coast club appears to have found their man in Juric. The 49-year-old is unknown to Premier League competitors, but he brings pedigree.
Juric, who is set to sign an 18-month contract, is unlikely to lead the side against Fulham on Sunday, but he could be in charge for the Boxing Day match against West Ham and the trip to Crystal Palace on December 29. LondonWorld looks at what the Hammers and Eagles can already figure out about how the new-look Saints side could shape up.
Southampton set to appoint Ivan Juric
Juric began his coaching career as an assistant to Gian Piero Gasperini at Inter and Palermo. Gasperini was known for his defensive organization and disciplined approach, which have become hallmarks of Juric’s style.
The Croatian has managed Genoa, Hellas Verona, and Torino, earning a reputation for steadiness despite limited financial resources. Those stretches on his CV undoubtedly made him an appealing choice for the Saints, who are currently bottom of the Premier League league, four points from safety.
The Guardian’s in-depth look at the manager’s tactics at Torino praised the team’s ‘high press’ and the coach’s aim to have players partnered up one-on-one with opponents all over the field. It also detected the’sheer levels of hostility’ in a team whose forwards were encouraged to attack the ball carrier at all times.
West Ham and Crystal Palace should expect ‘messy’ Saints
The outlet labelled those tactics as a ‘death metal’ approach in a nod to the manager’s penchant for the genre of music. Talking about his love for music, Juric once said: “I started at 14 years old with Metallica and Megadeth, then I moved on to more aggressive things. Death metal is my passion, bands like Napalm Death, Obituary and Carcass.”
The Southampton team is showing signs of improvement as they prepare for upcoming matches against London clubs. West Ham has a draw and a win in their last two games before hosting Brighton this weekend. Julen Lopetegui is expected to win the match against Southampton on Boxing Day, while Crystal Palace faces Arsenal and AFC B.
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