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Southampton sacked manager Mark Hughes on Monday morning as their winless run continued at the weekend, and Saints midfielder Oriol Romeu in particular will be delighted with the news.
What’s the word, then?
Well, despite picking up a 2-2 draw against Manchester United at St Mary’s on Saturday – albeit it was yet more points squandered from a winning position given they took a 2-0 lead – the south coast outfit’s hierarchy wielded the axe on the 55-year-old.
The Welshman had only led the side to one win in 14 Premier League matches this term which has left them in 19th position, so it was certainly no surprise that he went on Monday even if the timing was slightly surprising with a clash against Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley to come on Wednesday and with a new man not being appointed before then.
Hughes may not have been popular with some Southampton players, but Romeu will surely be one of those especially received by the major club update.
Why’s that?
The 27-year-old had become a huge fans’ favourite at St Mary’s and even picked up the 2016/17 player of the year award for his performances in a season where the club finished in eighth position in the Premier League and competed in group stages of the Europa League, but he has largely struggled for form since and looked off the pace under the tutelage of Mauricio Pellegrino and then Hughes.
Despite starting the opening two top flight fixtures during the current campaign under the Welshman, the Spaniard has found first-team minutes hard to come by since then with a preferred midfield combination of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Mario Lemina – and more recently those two and Stuart Armstrong in a three – preferred.
The defensive midfielder even failed to make the 18-man squad on five occasions in the Premier League and then – surprisingly – for the Carabao Cup clash with Leicester City last week, before he appeared for the U23 side the following day to hint at a fall-out between him and his manager.
While he did make the cut against United he failed to make it off of the substitutes’ bench, and he will be hoping that he can turn his Saints career around under whoever the new manager might be.
Haven’t seen Paul Pogba’s latest strange photoshoot? You need to check out the video below…
