Premier League manager admits club WILL be relegated this season in damning statement

Following their 2-1 loss to Wolves on Saturday, Southampton are 17 points from safety and manager Ivan Juric has admitted that relegation to the Championship is inevitable

Southampton boss Ivan Juric has admitted his side will be relegated from the Premier League following their 2-1 defeat by Wolves.

The result leaves Southampton 17 points from safety with just nine games left to play and could break Derby County’s record as the league’s worst-ever side if they fail to pick up any more points.

Following Southampton’s loss to Wolves, Juric bemoaned his side’s lack of “fight” and “dignity”. He told BBC Match of the Day: “Today was another game that suggests we are not ready to take points…

“There’s always something missing. The will to play well and to attack is there. The lads want to win the game and do their best. There are moments when we’re not good enough and that’s it. We will go down, but (we want to go down) with more fight, more dignity and more everything.”

Southampton were booed by their own fans after Juric took off Mateus Fernandes at half-time and when captain Jack Stephens was brought on in added time. When asked about the fan reaction to his substitutions, Juric added: “I think we are living a good life here. There is not too much pressure.

“If we are in Italy, you cannot go out, you cannot go with your kids to school, you cannot go to the restaurant. It’s completely different. I think if they do like to boo, it’s the minimum they can do to express that they are not happy with what we are doing, with my changes, with my sub.

“There is no excuses for us at this moment. I’m disappointed, I don’t know what to say. I think there’s always something missing. I think we started really good with the two great chances. Then we conceded the goal after 20 minutes.

“They never arrived near our goal and in this way, it’s really hard. Today, you have a feeling that the others are better, much better and then it’s not easy because they are faster or technically much better. We conceded the goal really easily.”

Wolves boss Vitor Pereira, meanwhile, was delighted with his side’s victory as they moved nine points clear of the bottom three. “It was very important for us in this moment in the season,” Pereira said.

“I think it was difficult for sure, we suffered a bit in the last 10 because we wanted to keep the three points. I think in this moment it was important to make the difference and have the difference to the other teams. Nine points is better than six.”

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