The Ivan Juric era has officially started at Southampton.
The Croatian will be tasked with keeping the Saints in the top flight from a position where it has never been done before in Premier League history. Is he the right man for the job?
After finishing his playing career at Genoa, Juric has spent all his time as a manager so far in Italy. He has managed six clubs across Italy’s top three divisions, including Hellas Verona, Torino and, most recently, Roma.
Saints fans may be concerned about Juric’s capabilities based off his time at Roma. The 49 year-old was dismissed last month after picking up just four wins from 12 matches in the capital – though Roma’s ownership have sacked three managers in 2024 alone and it could be argued that Juric was not given a fair chance to make an impact.
Juric has a knack for improving teams towards the bottom end of the table – which will be music to the ears of many Southampton fans. In 2019, he took over at newly promoted Hellas Verona and guided them to back-to-back top-half finishes in Serie A.
Following his time in Verona, Juric made the switch to Torino. After finishing 16th and 17th in the two previous seasons, the club then ended in the top half in three consecutive seasons under his leadership.
So, despite the difficulties at Roma, guiding teams who are near the bottom of the table to mid-table security has been Juric’s bread and butter over the past few seasons.
However, the task at St Mary’s could very well be the most difficult he will face.