Southampton have sacked Russell Martin following their 5-0 loss to Spurs in the Premier League on the weekend. Southampton are currently bottom of the league, with only five points and one win in the division so far this season. With the Saints now nine points away from safety, it feels like their next manager has a huge task on their hands to try and keep them in the division.
No doubt they will feel like they need to get this next appointment perfect and they will want to get it done sooner rather than later as Southampton have matches against Fulham, West Ham and Crystal Palace coming up next in the Premier League.
Next Permanent Southampton Manager Betting Odds
After an abysmal start to the season, Southampton fans were starting to turn on Martin, who refused to change his tactics despite them not working in the Premier League. Fans will be excited to see some of the favourites to take the managerial job at the Saints, with Kasper Hjulmand and Danny Rohl leading the way, whilst Carlos Corberan and Graham Potter are also outside favourites.
| Manager | Odds | Implied Probability |
| Kasper Hjulmand | 2/1 | 33.3% |
| Danny Rohl | 2/1 | 33.3% |
| Carlos Corberan | 13/2 | 13.3% |
| David Moyes | 16/1 | 5.9% |
| Graham Potter | 20/1 | 4.8% |
- Sky Bet Club offers regular rewards, boosts, cash drops & more
- Super 6 promo offers customers free-to-play games with big prizes
Who is Danny Rohl?
The current leading favourite is Danny Rohl, and those who are not familiar with the Championship may not recognise the name. Rohl is currently in charge of Sheffield Wednesday and has been in the job at the Owls since October 2023. Since taking the job at Sheffield Wednesday, Rohl has managed to steady the ship and turn the club from a side battling relegation to a side comfortably mid-table in the Championship, with fans having small hopes of a promotion battle as the club currently sit in the top 10 in the division.
Rohl has managed over 60 games for Sheffield Wednesday and has currently picked up more wins than losses, which is very good for the squad he has been in charge of over the last year.
Rohl, who is only 35 years old, is seen as a manager with huge amounts of potential, and he is showing that he has top quality in his current job. The German has top experience as the assistant manager of Germany from 2021 – 2023, and he also had spells as the assistant manager of Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig.
The Sheffield Wednesday job is his first as the main manager. Rohl also knows Southampton well, with the German being the assistant manager of the club from 2018-2019 whilst Ralph Hasenhuttl was in charge. With his preferred formation a 4-2-3-1 and with Rohl having a progressive style of play, but also showing that he is not scared of changing tactics, he could be a good fit for Southampton. The one worry will be the fact that he has never been the head manager in the Premier League or in a top-flight division before.
Who is Kasper Hjulmand?
Kasper Hjulmand is now one of the favourites to take the Southampton job. The 52-year-old is from Denmark and is currently not in a job, so it may be easier for Southampton to sign him if they want to give him the job. Hjulmand has an abundance of managerial experience. He has managed in the Bundesliga in Germany with Mainz, but this spell only lasted around six months. His main experience is in Denmark with Nordsjaelland, where he has been an assistant manager, manager and advisor over the years.
Hjulmand’s most recent job was as the manager of Denmark, where he managed for four years. He recently left this job after Euro 2024. He managed 54 matches for his country, winning 32 games, losing 14 and drawing eight matches. This is a very decent record. Hjulmand also won the Danish league with Nordsjaelland in 2012.
Graham Potter and Carlos Corberan also in the running for Southampton job
Two other outside favourites include ex-Chelsea boss Graham Potter and current West Bromwich Albion coach Carlos Corberan. Potter is highly rated by many and has been linked to practically every vacant Premier League job over the last year or so, with the Englishman also linked to the West Ham job, where current manager Julen Lopetegui is under a lot of pressure.
Potter is 49 years old and has managed 430 games across his career so far. He was massively successful in Sweden with Ostersunds and helped them win the Swedish Cup. They were also a Europa League side whilst he was in charge, and they famously beat Arsenal 2-1 at the Emirates during the group stages in 2018.
Since then, Potter has taken charge of Swansea in the Championship, where he heavily impressed as he managed to pick up 74 points in his 51 games in charge at the club. He was then poached by Brighton, where many would agree he had his most successful managerial spell to date. He managed 134 games for Brighton and was known for improving his squad, changing their tactics from defensive to progressive possession-based attack and had them pushing for European qualification when he left. Before he joined, Brighton were simply trying to stay in the Premier League and were struggling.
His last job was at Chelsea, where he showed promising spells, but was then sacked by an impatient board who wanted results sooner rather than later. Despite him being linked to the Saints job and being a favourite, it is hard to see him taking the job as he has already declined various offers over the last year or so.
Carlos Corberan, who is 41, is another exciting favourite linked to the job. He is currently the manager of Championship side West Brom, who are currently battling for a play-off position in the division. The Spanish manager has had various jobs over the years, including an assistant manager role at Leeds, as well as head managerial jobs at Huddersfield and Olympiacos.
He is averaging 1.58 points per match at West Brom and he has only lost 31 of his 106 matches in charge of the Baggies. From October 5th 2024 to December 15th 2024, West Brom have only lost one match, emphasising that Corberan also has the tactical nouse to defend well, something which Southampton desperately need as they continue to leak goals.
Other outside favourites include former West Ham manager David Moyes, who is known for his defensive style of play. Southampton need to make a big decision as they decide whether to go with an exciting progressive manager with potential, like Rohl, or if they just try to shut up shop and look to grind out results with a manager like Moyes. Moyes, who won the Europa Conference League with West Ham, would be a great option for the Saints, but it may be very hard to tempt him to join the club.
Why did Southampton sack Russell Martin?
Russell Martin was a fan favourite with Southampton last season as he managed to get the club promoted via the play-offs at Wembley. He is known for a specific style of play, which sees his teams try to hold onto the ball and dominate possession. This was simply not working in the Premier League, where his defence were constantly passing the ball to opponents after being pressed by the attacking opposition.
This not only saw them lose many matches but also saw them concede the second-most goals in the division. His stubbornness saw him refuse to change his tactics, which saw the defeats continue, whilst Southampton fans were starting to turn against him and call for him to be sacked. Martin simply didn’t have the players for what he wanted to do and with only five points in December, his sacking felt inevitable.
