Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Ben Fisher

Jesse Marsch agrees to succeed Jones as Southampton manager

Jesse Marsch on the touchline at St Mary’s in August, when Leeds drew 2-2 with Southampton.
Jesse Marsch on the touchline at St Mary’s in August, when Leeds drew 2-2 with Southampton. Photograph: Simon Davies/ProSports/Shutterstock

Jesse Marsch is primed to succeed Nathan Jones after agreeing to take charge of Southampton after another round of positive talks on Monday. The American is poised for a return to management little more than a week on from his sacking by fellow strugglers Leeds.

Southampton believe Marsch can galvanise the squad and expect him to implement a style similar to that of their former manager Ralph Hasenhüttl, who built a playbook for all of the club’s teams follow.

Southampton, who are bottom of the Premier League, sounded out Marsch last week and are understood to admire his high-pressing style. Marsch has worked across the Red Bull group at New York Red Bulls, Red Bull Salzburg and RB Leipzig, where Hasenhüttl, whom Jones replaced, spent two years in charge.

Jones was sacked after 14 games, with a run of seven defeats in eight Premier League matches leading to his exit three months into a three-and-a-half-year contract. The Welshman lasted 94 days, the shortest managerial tenure in Southampton’s history.

Rubén Sellés, who took interim charge for the second time this season after Jones’s departure on Sunday, was expected to lead Southampton at Chelsea on Saturday, but Marsch could be appointed in time to take charge. Southampton visit Leeds the following Saturday.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.