Mauricio Pellegrino ‘sorry’ for leading Southampton into Premier League relegation battle following sacking

The Argentine manager arrived last summer with a remit of building upon Claude Puel’s eighth-place finish and instilling a more adventurous style of play, but achieved neither

Mauricio Pellegrino was sacked by Southampton on Monday evening (Getty Images)

Mauricio Pellegrino said he is “sorry” for leading Southampton into a relegation battle this season, after he was sacked by the club on Monday evening.

The Argentine manager arrived at St Mary’s last summer with a remit of building upon Claude Puel’s eighth-place finish and establishing a more adventurous style of play, but achieved neither, and departs with Saints one point and one place above the bottom three with eight games remaining.

“From the beginning I tried to do my best every single day,” Pellegrino said in a statement on Tuesday. “I tried to give back to the club and tried to represent the club with pride.

“Some moments we managed this, some moments we couldn’t, but we have been living a difficult season for many reasons. The manager is the face of a lot of decisions and actions, but I always tried to put the club first with my technical staff and the board behind me.

“I feel so sorry to leave the club in this situation, but when you don’t get results I understand the decision the club has to take.”

Southampton will look to appoint a new manager quickly, ideally before Sunday’s FA Cup quarter-final with Wigan Athletic, although they have nearly three weeks before their next league fixture, at fellow strugglers West Ham United on 31 March.