Southampton’s return to the Premier League has ended in historic disappointment, as the south coast club were relegated in record time after a 3-1 loss to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, okaynews.com reports.
Brennan Johnson netted twice in the first half for Spurs, setting the tone before Mateus Fernandes’ late consolation failed to spark a comeback. The defeat marked Southampton’s 25th loss in just 31 matches, cementing their place at the bottom of the table and confirming their drop to the Championship with seven games still to play — the earliest relegation in Premier League history.
Previously, the joint-record for the earliest relegation had been held by Ipswich Town (1994-95) and Derby County (2007-08), both of whom went down with six matches remaining.
Under pressure and out of form, Southampton manager Ivan Juric conceded earlier this week that the club’s only remaining goal was to avoid breaking Derby’s all-time low tally of 11 points. With Southampton currently on nine, they remain perilously close to matching another unwanted record.
The writing was already on the wall after fourth-bottom Wolverhampton Wanderers came from behind to beat Ipswich 2-1 on Saturday, leaving Southampton an insurmountable 22 points adrift of safety.
Sunday’s loss came just 315 days after Southampton earned promotion back to the top flight with a playoff final victory over Leeds United at Wembley. That celebration now feels like a distant memory.
Much of the blame for the team’s Premier League collapse has been attributed to the failed tactical gamble of former manager Russell Martin, who insisted on maintaining his attacking philosophy despite mounting defeats. Martin was sacked in December following a 5-0 thrashing by Tottenham that left the Saints anchored to the bottom with just five points from 16 games.
His successor, former Roma boss Ivan Juric, arrived on an 18-month deal but has been unable to arrest the decline. With no wins in their last seven league outings, Southampton now face the final stretch of a brutal campaign with little more than pride and a dubious place in history left to play for.
