Southampton Sack Pellegrino

Southampton have sacked manager Mauricio Pellegrino, the south coast club have announced.

Saints were beaten 3-0 at Newcastle on Saturday to leave them just one place and one point above the relegation zone.

Assistant manager Carlos Compagnucci and assistant first-team coach Xavier Tamarit have also parted company with the club.

A Southampton statement read: “We would like to place on record our thanks to Mauricio, Carlos and Xavier for their efforts during their time with Southampton, and wish them well for the future.

“The club will look to appoint a new management team as soon as possible, with the search for a replacement already under way.”

Pelligrino had been under increasing pressure as the season progressed, with Saints having won just one of their last 17 Premier League matches.

Fans have become frustrated with his perceived defensive tactics while pundits accused the players of not playing for the Argentinian.

Pelligrino admitted as much himself after the Newcastle defeat, saying: “I observed some players who gave up and we cannot show this, to be honest.

“You can lose, you can play badly, but you have to show another face on the pitch.

“For this reason, I would like to say sorry to our fans because we couldn’t represent our club properly. This is the worst thing that we did today.”