Southampton: Saints in advanced talks with Mark Hughes

Southampton could swiftly move to appoint a new manager as soon as this evening, with the Saints now in advanced talks with Mark Hughes.

That’s according to Sky sources at least, who despite the occasional blunder have proved fairly reliable over the years.

Hughes most recently managed Stoke City but was sacked and replaced by Paul Lambert is who -as of now – yet to claw the Potters out of the relegation zone.

Many believe that the Welshman will be appointed this evening with the Saints currently on a day off from training – appointing him tonight means he can start with the players tomorrow ahead of this weekend’s game against Wigan in the FA Cup.

Next: Southampton sack manager Mauricio Pellegrino

The ex-Southampton player doesn’t bring the greatest track record with him, having been sacked from three of his last four jobs since taking over at Manchester City following their new financial backing.

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What should be noted however is that Hughes managed Stoke City for nearly five years, which in the Premier League is seemingly a very long time. At the point of his sacking only Arsene Wenger has consistently managed the same side in the PL for longer.

What’s more, the 54-year-old will almost certainly take no prisoners with a Southampton squad that needs a thorough boot up the backside. Whilst blame can be placed on Pellegrino’s shoulders, the Saints squad is far better than the 17th-place they currently occupy.

Whilst it’s more than believable that the Saints are in advanced talks with the former-Fulham gaffer, it remains totally unclear as to how long the Saints are looking to tie him down for.

A short-term, interim basis seems like the most obvious option but it isn’t December or January – Southampton only have eight league games left and that’s an extremely small amount of time for an experienced manager like Hughes to commit too. At best it would make sense for him to commit to 18 months like Sam Allardyce did with Everton.

But whilst Hughes will almost certainly crack the whip and hopefully get the Saints firing on all cylinders again, he remains a relatively uninspiring appointment in the long-term. Last summer, Southampton were looking at a lot more interesting bosses with European experience whilst Hughes has – for the most part – failed to push his sides into the top half.