The bookmakers already have a clear favourite for who will be the next manager at St Mary's and although it is no shock to see who they think is the favourite, there is a surprise name thrown in the hat.

A look at oddschecker.com does not throw up any surprises for the favourite to be the next manager of Saints, Danny Rohl is by far and away the bookies choice with odds of around 1/2 & 4/6.

After that it is Leroy Rosenior at 6/1 and former Denmark national coach Kasper Hjulmand at 12/1 before a raft of other candidates from the usual suspects when a managers job becomes vacant.

But the The Birmingham Mail has suggested a surprise contender, former Liverpool player and ex Rangers & Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard, currently out of work having left Saudi Pro League side Al-Ettifaq in January.

He is currently hovering on the fringes of the favourites with odds of 20/1, but I doubt if his appointment would bring much joy to the Saints faithful, many of who seem to have a hatred of all things Liverpool, possibly stemming from when the Anfield club signed several key players a decade or so ago.

Gerrard sits on the same odds as Ralph Hasenhuttl to return to his former club.

So the speculation will now begin, although I suspect that Saints will wait until the season is over before making their appointment, two years ago they played the final games of the season under a caretaker manager in Ruben Selles and I think that will be the case again and Simon Rusk and Adam Lallana will see the season out in charge of the squad, this will possibly point to the way forward, Rusk will continue his education under the new man with Lallana forming part of the coaching set up.

All Photos Via Reuters

1885_SFC added 16:00 - Apr 7 Gerrard? FFS please no.
6

Fisk27 added 16:25 - Apr 7 @1885_SFC exactly my thought as well lol 🤣 I think ww should consider Rusk if he does well the last 7 games, but of course I prefer Röhl out of the names mentioned, but I think in "good" SR style they are going to refuse to pay the money required to get him.....
4

GRIM added 16:59 - Apr 7 If the combination of Simon Rusk & Adam Lallana can manage to get a few points & regain some credibility in the last 7 games with this rubbish squad of players we've got then they should be given the job permanently next season.
5

Colburn added 17:02 - Apr 7 Yeah only the Birmingham mail starting the Gerrard click bait rumour for their advertisers.. I doubt Leroy Rosenior is in the reckoning but Liam Rosenior is. He and Rohly are my preferences, in that order. I think Rohl is most likely though, especially if the Owls chair makes more late payments.. breach of contract etc.. Don’t want Gerrard, not because he’s a Scouser, I just don’t think he’s got it as a manager. Please not a bottle job like Southgate, we need someone with courage and a history of winning something!

1

DellBoyWally added 17:08 - Apr 7 Fisk27 The buyout clause is apparently £5M, meagre by todays standards. And apparently Rhol is unhappy with SW's owner (as are the fans!!) With Rohl arguably the tactician behind Ralph and with his broad, high-level experience I think he'd be a great fit, next season and beyond. Lallana's wide PL experience would make him a good assistant along with Rusk. More importantly will be player acquisition. A GK if Rams goes (I don't think Bas is the answer). Our CBs are skilful but not big and strong enough. Sugs will be fine at RB and presumably Manning will be LB with Welington developing. Midfield is not a problem although we could lose Mateus. Adama (?) and Archer should be fine up front although Tall Paul would cause havoc in the Championship. I'd like to see Dibbles stay and develop then spend a year back in the PL WHEN we get promoted. .Then ask £100M Plus our youngsters coming through, some with great promise, we'd be better prepared for the big league again in 2026

1

landsdownsaint added 17:09 - Apr 7 Rohl hasn’t done enough for me , I saw Lampard mentioned earlier , might not be a bad shout …. I’d have Ralph back in a heartbeat but that ain’t happening
3

Fisk27 added 17:45 - Apr 7 @DellBoyWally I agree with the other part maybe just as important as the manager, player logistics,. As for the manager buyout I think also the clause was reduced when relegation was confirmed as we now would negotiate as a championship side, so probably £2-3m now, we will see if that's the reason they didn't pull the plug on Juric earlier... What a mess......
2

Boris1977 added 18:17 - Apr 7 It'll be Gerrard as sports Republic are clueless. They'll see him as a big name and ignore his record. The club would be better off as a fan owned entity instead of sports retarded
-2

saintmark1976 added 18:46 - Apr 7 Gerrard is just another player who attempted to be a manager and failed miserably, much the same as the village idiot Rooney. Given that our club is owned and run by a bunch of total incompetents I imagine it would be a marriage made in heaven were he to be appointed.
4

mgprobert added 19:18 - Apr 7 I understand Russel Martin is looking for a job?
-3

WestSussexSaint added 20:20 - Apr 7 Boris1977, unless there are Saints fans out there with VERY deep pockets, your suggestion of being fan owned is a non-starter for a club looking to be successful in the Championship let alone the PL. just look at our blue “friends” down the road who were fan owned to stave off extinction but were going no where in league 2 until the Disney guy bought them. The fact is, being successful takes a combination of a lot of money and good decisions. SR have invested a shed load into the club. The big issue has been the poor decision making. Hopefully Spors can be the first good decision which leads to another in a new manger and then buying the right players. We can only hope!

2

Bowlercow added 20:43 - Apr 7 We are looking for a man who can be top notch in the championship with a young developing squad.If we do bounce straight back again then SR needs to buy some reasonably priced experienced top flight players Look at the team v Spurs Was it 7 players under 24 To be successful in thePL we should not have more than 4 under 24 in any starting eleven My preference would be Rohl just because I think he would be capable of lifting the gloom just as Ralph did. He has a broad amount of experience and would hopefully be able to handle the challenge of the PL Gerrard and Lampard could handle the promotion challenge based on SG at Rangers and FL at Coventry but both have failed in the PL Whoever they appoint we have just got to continue the fantastic support we have delivered in this horrible year

1

SanMarco added 22:41 - Apr 7 I'd be happy with Rohl. He has experience of being unhappy with owners - may come in useful. As for Gerrard - I list his managerial achievements below:
4

Bowlercow added 07:41 - Apr 8 Feda Dudic is the man to put your money on
0

Newdawn2014 added 12:16 - Apr 8 cant get excited about the next manager debates , but whoever it is I wish him all the luck in the world and for the love of dog , please get it right . COYS
2

Blogs 31 bloggers

Southampton Polls