Southampton are currently on the search for their next permanent head coach after they made the decision to part ways with Will Still earlier this month.
The former Lens boss only won two Championship matches during his time at St. Mary’s, and the club must, simply, find a manager who can bring a winning mentality back to Hampshire.
Southampton, as shown in the graphic above, have had a run of less-than-successful head coach appointments, which may not fill supporters with too much hope for the next one.
The latest on Southampton's managerial search
The Telegraph reports that former Wolverhampton Wanderers and Bournemouth manager Gary O’Neil is in pole position to land the job, having left Wolves last year.
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It states that he is the leading contender for the role at this moment in time, but that it is still early on in the process and there are other managers are in the frame.
The Telegraph adds that Michael Carrick, who is also out of a job, is a head coach who is being considered and could come into the running to replace Still in the coming days.
The former Middlesbrough boss, who was hailed as an “insanely talented coach” by former Boro player Lukas Engel, has been a free agent since the end of last season, and could be a dream alternative to O’Neil.
Why Southampton should hire Carrick over O'Neil
Parking any concerns about O’Neil’s Portsmouth ties to the side, given that he previously stated a desire to manage Pompey, the former Wolves boss has yet to show that he can coach a team to dominate and win games consistently.
As shown in the graphic in the post above, his Bournemouth and Wolves teams consistently conceded more chances than they created, and both clubs improved statistically after he left.
There should, therefore, be concerns about whether or not he is the right profile of coach to lead Southampton to promotion back to the Premier League as a side that needs to win consistently to gain promotion.
Carrick, meanwhile, has a proven track record of coaching a dominant team in the Championship, as well as taking over in a similar situation to the one that Saints find themselves in.
The English boss joined Boro after they had won two of their first 11 league games in the 2022/23 campaign and led them to a fourth-place finish, per Transfermarkt, whilst Southampton have won three of their 14 league matches this term.
League finish
8th
10th
xPTS (Expected league finish)
73 (5th)
71 (6th)
xG
69.5
67.4
xGA
55.0
56.4
xGD
+14.5
+11.3
As you can see in the table above, Carrick also coached expected play-off finishes in his two full seasons at Middlesbrough, but his squad did not deliver results that matched the performances.
Some may point to the fact that Boro are currently third in the Championship after his departure, but they are sixth for xPTS and have failed to win any of their last three games, per FotMob, which suggests that their fast start is slowing down to match their performance level.
Overall, Carrick could be a dream alternative to O’Neil because he does not have links to Portsmouth, he does have relevant Championship experience, and he has achieved a play-off finish after taking over a club in a similar position.
Whereas, O’Neil has never managed in the Championship and has lost 52 of his 100 games as a manager, per Transfermarkt, which shows that he has yet to prove himself as a coach who can deliver winning football.
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ByCharlie Smith