The heat's on Mark Hughes with Southampton set to make decision on his future if they lose to Fulham

  • Mark Hughes is under increasing pressure to keep his job at Southampton
  • Saints chiefs are to make a decision on his future should they lose to Fulham
  • Higher-ups at Southampton are keen to learn from Mauricio Pellegrino sacking
  • They face Tottenham and Manchester United after Saturday's game with Fulham

Mark Hughes is under increasing pressure to keep his job at Southampton, with club chiefs minded to make a swift decision on his future.

The Saints face Fulham, who will be buoyed by the appointment of Claudio Ranieri, on Saturday where a loss would leave the Welshman's position under intense scrutiny.

Southampton chiefs believe they made a mistake in not sacking previous manager Mauricio Pellegrino far earlier last season.

Mark Hughes is under increasing pressure to turn results around at Southampton

Mark Hughes is under increasing pressure to turn results around at Southampton

Saints chiefs believe they made a mistake in not sacking Mauricio Pellegrino earlier last season

Saints chiefs believe they made a mistake in not sacking Mauricio Pellegrino earlier last season

Having appointed the Argentine at the start of the season, Southampton did not fire Pellegrini until March — at which point the club had just eight games to preserve their top-flight status having fallen just one point away from the relegation zone.


There is acknowledgment behind-the-scenes at Southampton that waiting so long to make a material change was a mistake, even though Hughes eventually kept them up.

And there is a feeling at St Mary's that they cannot afford Hughes a similar amount of time and are likely to take decisive action significantly sooner if he can not halt their alarming slide down the table.

Furthermore, Southampton's top-brass believe their squad is far better than their current 17th place position and are therefore concerned Hughes is currently underachieving.

Higher-ups at St Mary's are to make a decision on Hughes' future should they lose to Fulham

Higher-ups at St Mary's are to make a decision on Hughes' future should they lose to Fulham

The restructuring of the Saints football operation following the departures of vice-chairman Les Reed and technical director Martin Hunter could buy Hughes some extra time.

But nonetheless there is significant focus on Hughes' position from the Saints hierarchy, who want to see a rapid turnaround in fortunes.

With Premier League games against Manchester United and Tottenham immediately after Saturday's crunch game against Fulham, the prospect of climbing the Premier League table in the next couple of weeks looks a tough ask.