It is going from bad to worse for Southampton Football Club, as they announced the dismissal of coach Mauricio Pellegrino following a run of abysmal form which has seen them become prime candidates for Premier League relegation.
Needing to make a change before it's too late
Some fans were happy to see the back of former coach Claude Puel with many questioning his style of play, Pellegrino was brought in but it has only got worse where the Frenchman has gone from strength-to-strength with Leicester City.
The Saints have been in free fall for the last few months which has seen them nosedive right down into the depths of the table, with one win in their last 17 matches leaving them a point outside the relegation zone.
The straw that broke the camels back proved to come on Saturday with the heavy 3-0 defeat to Newcastle United on Saturday, with it currently being unknown who will take charge of the FA Cup quarter-final with Wigan Athletic ahead of the international break.
"The club can confirm it has parted company with Mauricio Pellegrino," a club statement read. "Assistant manager Carlos Compagnucci and assistant first-team coach Xavier Tamarit have also parted company with the club."
"We would like to place on record our thanks to Mauricio, Carlos and Xavier for their efforts during their time with Southampton," it continued. "And wish them well for the future."
"The club will look to appoint a new management team as soon as possible," it concluded. "With the search for a replacement already underway."
Don't represent the club values
Their trip to St James' Park at the weekend would have been highlighted as a must-win for the Argentine coach, with The Magpies being in a very similar position to themselves.
However Rafael Benítez's side boosted their own survival chances with Kenedy putting in a man-of-the-match performance with two goals inside the first half-hour, Matt Ritchie rounded off Pellegrino's final curtain call and he stated post-match that he was "sorry" to the fans as they failed to represent the "values" of the club.
"We are disappointed because from the first minute we were not focused," Pellegrino told Sky Sports. "We made this mistake and paid the price for the rest of the game."
"At this level, you cannot start in this way because we missed an amazing chance to try to improve," the coach proclaimed. "I haven't seen my team compete in this way this season without the spirit you need to compete at this level."
"Sometimes you can play badly," the Argentine admitted. "Sometimes you can make mistakes but you have to react."
"We have to say sorry to our fans because we didn't represent the values of the club," Pellegrino concluded. "In this situation, we have to react as quickly as we can."