The pressure on Mark Hughes increased as Southampton were humiliated by Premier League champions Manchester City on Sunday.
It is panic stations at Southampton.
Plenty of teams have been swatted aside by Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering Manchester City in the last 12 months, but the manner of their 6-1 collapse at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday afternoon has got fans fearing an inevitable return to the Football League.
The Saints have only won one of 11 top flight games this season, scoring seven goals to boot, and the pressure has now increased on manager Mark Hughes.
But could Southampton resort to appointing one of those battle-scarred firefighters to lead them out of danger?
Paddy Power have suddenly made David Moyes (7/2) and Sam Allardyce (6/1) the early favourites to replace Hughes, who arrived at Southampton last March and led them away from the Premier League relegation zone.
Moyes took over at West Ham at a similar time last season and steadied a team in free-fall under Slaven Bilic. The similarly experienced Allardyce, meanwhile, has established himself as a manager capable of steering a sinking ship, having performed miracles at Sunderland and Crystal Palace in recent years.
But neither really has the feeling of a long-term solution for a Southampton side who were once seen as a bastion of foresight and intelligent planning during the reigns of Mauricio Pochettino and Ronald Koeman.
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