Premier League: Southampton appoint Mark Hughes as manager

Southampton have appointed a new manager just a few days after having sacked Mauricio Pellegrino: former Stoke City boss Mark Hughes signed a contract with the Saints until the end of the current season. Pellegrino was sacked on Monday after having failed to win any of the last four league matches and having won just once in their last seventeen Premier League matches. The Saints are currently just one point above the relegation zone, with eight matches left in the season. Mark Hughes got sacked himself this season, he was forced to leave Stoke City after four and a half years at the helm and he left the Potters in the relegation zone. Mark Hughes has plenty of experience in the Premier League, he has survived 445 top-flight matches as manager in charge of Blackburn, Manchester City, Fulham, QPR and Stoke. He is also a familiar face at Southampton as he played for the Saints for a couple of years between 1998 and 2000 and scored two league goals for the club. "It's a challenge I'm excited by. It's a great opportunity to come back to a club I know well, and a club I've got real affinity with, and I couldn't turn that down," Hughes said after signing the contract. "I bring experience of the Premier League. I understand what it takes in this league to win games. But first and foremost I think it's about coming in and maybe being that different voice, that different message from myself and the staff, that will enable the players to recognise and focus on what needs to be done in this key period of the season. The objective clearly is to remain in the league and make sure we're a Premier League club next year. That's where this club needs to be, that's where it should be, and that's our intention to make sure it remains there." Southampton are 15/8 at Bet365 to get relegated from the Premier League this season.