Southampton on Thursday fired head coach Nigel Adkins, replacing him with former Espanyol coach Mauricio Pochettino. According to ESPN, Adkins departure was a longtime in coming; as far back as October, one player is reported to have said: “he could literally be gone any week.”
Why did he remain for so long? Well, after losing its firstfour games and then taking until the end of November to claim only a second Premier League win, Adkins’ Southampton went five games unbeaten, which included Wednesday’s 2-2 draw againstChelsea at Stamford Bridge. It turns out that that impressive result was not enough to save his job, as Adkins, who had led the club to back-to-back promotions in three seasons as manager, was firedthe next day.
Pochettino, his replacement, was axed two months ago by Espanyol during a poor run of form which left the Catalan club bottom of La Liga with two wins from 13 games. TheArgentine had led Espanyol to an eighth-place finish in 2011, but a combination of financial troubles and a falling out with club management led to his dismissal last year.