Southampton: Should Hughes be sacked if Saints lose to Watford?

Reports since the weekend have suggested that Southampton could part ways with manager Mark Hughes should they lose to Watford this Saturday.

The Saints have won just the one game all season, which came at the start of September when they beat Crystal Palace 2-0.

Since then the side have also gone five Premier League games without scoring – a barren run which was only ended when Danny Ings scored from the spot against Manchester City on Sunday.

As a result, its understandable that Hughes’ position is reportedly being reviewed by the club, although this is just media chatter at this point in time.

However, with Huddersfield and Newcastle both getting wins this weekend the gap at the bottom of the table as become tighter than ever, and the Saints may need to be proactive rather than reactive this season.

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 04: Mark Hughes, Manager of Southampton reacts during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Southampton FC at Etihad Stadium on November 4, 2018 in Manchester, United Kingdom. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images) /

The main reason behind appointing Hughes over the summer was because he appeared to install confidence, passion and grit into a Southampton side which was void of all three. However, a dozen matches into the new campaign and there’s no sign of that desire we saw back in April.

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Many hoped that with the arrival of Hughes permanently the football club would have some stability after two years of ups and downs.

However fans are now fearing the worst in that Hughes’ negative style of football could in fact send the Saints down. The supporters aren’t expecting the Koeman-ball of old but simply a manager who can get the Saints playing creatively and expressively.

Watford have started the campaign brightly but lost this past weekend to Newcastle – the Saints absolutely have to beat the Hornets as teams around them have momentum.

If they lose the club should – in my opinion – part ways with their manager. The Welshman simply isn’t cutting the mustard and many of the club’s best players are struggling as a direct result of the style of football he insists upon.

Southampton deserve better than to fight relegation for the next few seasons until they eventually go down. The way to avoid that is one good managerial appointment and this could be the time to do so.