Will Still has been sacked by Southampton after a very poor run of results in the opening 2025/26 season.
After being relegated from the Premier League, Still was hired in the summer by Southampton. The 33-year-old Belgian had previously worked with both Reims and Lens in Ligue 1, and earned a reputation as a promising young coach through his efforts in the top division of French football.
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The manager came in as a permanent replacement for Ivan Juric, who was manager when Southampton became the first team to be relegated from the Premier League with seven games left in the season. Juric took over a team that was already in a relegation battle from Russell Martin, who has since had a short and miserable stint as manager of Rangers.
Still had time to implement his philosophy in the team, which includes nine players who were signed in the last transfer window. Despite this, things have not clicked for the young manager, and rumours of potential replacements for Still have been circulating. Now it seems that the Saints are ready for a new manager.
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According to L’Equipe, Still will be sacked by Southampton. He has led 13 games in the Championship, but has only won two of those games. In addition, his team has drawn six and lost five games. The defeat in their last game, against Preston, marked their third straight defeat in the league.
Southampton later confirmed that they had parted ways with Still, in a statement on Sunday evening.
“Southampton Football Club can confirm that tonight we have parted ways with men’s first-team coach Will Still. Rubén Martinez, Clément Lemaitre and Carl Martin have also left their positions at the club.
“The U21 team’s head coach Tonda Eckert will take over responsibility for the team temporarily.
“The group’s technical director Johannes Spors said, ‘Will is an amazing human being who gave everything to try to improve performance and results.’
‘Ultimately, that process has taken longer than any of us could have wanted. By making a change now, we think it gives us the best chance to turn the situation around this season and climb up the table.’
‘I would like to thank Will, Rubén, Clément and Carl for their efforts and wish them the best of luck in the future.'”
Southampton, who have not won in five games, were expected to be a promotion candidate before the season. Regardless of how tough a Premier League season they experienced, much more was expected of the southern club, who are only three points above the relegation zone in the second division.
Stilling remains a promising figure in the coaching industry, but it is clear that his time at Southampton has not worked out. Who the Saints choose to replace him with remains to be seen, but no matter who the new manager is, they will face a significant task at St Mary’s.
