Sutton blasts Southampton board for leaving Pellegrino dismissal so late

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Yesterday, Mark Hughes was appointed the new Southampton manager after the sacking of Mauricio Pellegrino.

Yesterday, former Stoke City boss Mark Hughes was appointed as Southampton’s new manager following the dismissal of Mauricio Pellegrino.

Hughes now has a major task on his hands with eight games to salvage the Saints’ season as they currently sit one place above the relegation zone, a point above Crystal Palace and Hughes’ former club Stoke.

The Welshman, 54, played for Southampton during the latter stages of his career for two seasons and is remembered fondly on the South Coast, and his existing knowledge of the club is probably what stood him apart from other potential candidates.

However, the Saints should be wary that the club that sacked Hughes earlier in the season are in fact sitting below them in the table, looking highly likely to go down. Should both teams face the drop, Hughes will have had a hand in the relegation of not one but two Premier League clubs.

The decision to sack Pellegrino so late in the season has been questioned by former Premier League winner Chris Sutton, who blasted the Southampton board suggesting the dismissal should have come months ago.

The uninspiring brand of football and lack of charisma from the Argentine were warnings for Sutton, who suggested that if the club go down, it will be the direct fault of the board.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live Sport, Sutton said: “[The sacking] should have been done weeks ago, months ago. Things weren’t working out for Pellegrino.

“If they go down, Southampton, it will be the board’s fault because they have waited for too long to make the change.

“He was hardly the most inspirational bloke out there as a manager and I think it’s really poor planning that Southampton have waited this long.”

Having won only five games all season, Hughes will be hoping he can get his Saints managerial career off to a strong start with a win against Wigan Athletic in the FA Cup quarter-finals.

Wigan did incredibly well to knock out Manchester City in the previous round, but they should present an extremely winnable game for Southampton as they look to take some positivity going into the final eight games of the season.