Southampton fires Mauricio Pellegrino as manager

Southampton parted ways with manager Mauricio Pellegrino on Monday with eight matches remaining in the Premier League season.

The Saints are positioned just one point above the relegation zone following a run of one win in 17 league matches. The final straw was Saturday's 3-0 defeat at Newcastle United, with Pellegrino telling BBC Sport post-match that he "observed some players who gave up and we cannot show this."

The club also ended the contracts of assistant manager Carlos Compagnucci and assistant first-team coach Xavier Tamarit.

"We would like to place on record our thanks to Mauricio, Carlos and Xavier for their efforts during their time with Southampton, and wish them well for the future," reads the club statement.

"The club will look to appoint a new management team as soon as possible, with the search for a replacement already underway."

Pellegrino, a retired Argentinian international, was signed in June 2017 after showing promise at the helm of CD Alaves. He led the Basque side to the Copa del Rey final a month prior to his Saints appointment, losing 3-1 to Barcelona at the Vicente Calderon.

Following Pellegrino's disappointing showing, the decision-making in the Southampton boardroom now faces severe scrutiny. Despite narrowly losing in the League Cup final to Manchester United and finishing eighth in the 2016-17 campaign, the club brass decided to dismiss Claude Puel. Now the French tactician is in eighth place with Leicester City, while Southampton is managerless and producing performances that, without improvement, will consign it to second-tier football next season.

Southampton's next fixture is an FA Cup quarter-final meeting with League One's Wigan Athletic on Sunday. The south-coast outfit's next league outing is scheduled for March 31 against fellow relegation candidate West Ham United.