Southampton will be competing in the Championship next season and are currently on the lookout for a new manager to guide them into what they hope will be another promotion campaign, after parting ways with Ivan Juric following their relegation, which was confirmed on Sunday.

Juric had replaced the sacked Russell Martin earlier in the season, when the Saints were entrenched in the Premier League's bottom three. However, he was unable to inspire any significant improvement in form, and their relegation was confirmed after a 3-1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur.

Southampton have only accumulated 10 points this season, and are yet to surpass Derby County's record low of 11 points, which they finished with in 2008, making them statistically the worst team in Premier League history. The remainder of the season will be played under caretaker manager Simon Rusk.

Their campaign continues with a match against Aston Villa, who visit St Mary's on Saturday (3pm). Villa are pursuing Champions League football for a second consecutive season and are targeting wins eight and nine in a row this week, with PSG coming midweek before their trip south.

Looking ahead, Southampton are set to appoint a new manager. Several names have already emerged in discussions, with various bookmakers listing potential candidates to succeed Juric and lead the club back to the Premier League next season.

One of the names in the running is former Villa boss Steven Gerrard, who is currently without a club after leaving Saudi Pro League side Al-Ettifaq in January. Gerrard managed Villa for just under a year between November 2021 and October 2022, during which time he won 13 of his 40 games in charge before being replaced by Unai Emery.

Gerrard joined Villa from Rangers, where he won the Scottish Premiership title in 2021, but was unable to replicate that success at Villa Park. He is currently the third favourite (5/2) for the Southampton job, according to Gambling.com, behind Steve Cooper (6/4) and Sean Dyche (7/4).

Other potential candidates include former Wolves manager Gary O'Neil, Bristol City boss Liam Manning, Sheffield Wednesday manager Danny Rohl, former Luton Town coach Rob Edwards, and even Martin himself, who has not worked since leaving Southampton.