The one financial stumbling block holding Sport Republic back in Southampton manager decision

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Southampton will need to consider the implications financially when debating whether to sack manager Russell Martin.

Southampton are in a perilous position at the bottom of the Premier League table, failing to win any of their eight games while their only point has come against another newly-promoted side, Ipswich Town.

They were upstaged by Leicester City in pursuit of their first three points last weekend, as the Foxes came from 2-0 behind to beat the Saints 3-2.

It was a result that placed further pressure on manager Russell Martin, with many calling for his head after watching him fall short tactically.

Despite their terrible start to the season, Southampton’s board are still showing faith in Martin, and that is perhaps because they’d have to fork out a hefty amount to relieve him of his duties.

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Southampton would have to pay £12m to sack Russell Martin

While many are calling for the Saints boss to leave St Marys, it’s understandable why the club are reluctant to pull the trigger.

Whether they sack Martin or not, the Southampton chiefs are well aware that relegation is highly possible regardless of what changes are made.

They will also consider whether the 38-year-old is the best candidate to take the Saints back up to the top flight, providing they fail to avoid relegation.

Another reason why they’re holding fire on the manager’s future is because of how much it would cost to relieve Martin and his staff of their duties.

According to the Daily Echo, the club would have to fork out £12 million to sack Martin and bring in a new manager to replace him.

Previously, the Saints totalled a staggering £14.6 million in costs of changing managers twice during the 2022/23 season and still suffered relegation.

They replaced Ralph Hasenhuttl with Nathan Jones, who brought with him coaches Alan Sheehan and Chris Cohen before sacking him and hiring Ruben Selles.

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November is pivotal for Martin and Southampton

For Martin to salvage his job and Southampton’s position in the table, November is a pivotal month.

Southampton travel to Manchester City this weekend not expecting to get anything from the game however, at the start of November they host Everton and visit Wolves.

The Saints board will be giving Martin at least until the next international break, assessing his progress on a game-by-game basis, but you feel those matches against relegation rivals are vital in their decision.

Failure to take any points from those games could leave Sport Republic with no choice but to sack Martin, who could have no complaints.

That said, taking at least three or four points from them two matches would perhaps mean he’d live to fight another day, although the fixture list after that is unforgiving.

They go on a run where they play Liverpool, Brighton, Chelsea, Aston Villa and Tottenham all in a row and that could spell even more danger for Southampton in their fight for survival.