Former Brighton coach Simon Rusk takes temporary charge at SouthamptonFormer Brighton coach Simon Rusk takes temporary charge at Southampton
Former Brighton coach Simon Rusk takes temporary charge at Southampton
Ex-Brighton man Simon Rusk prepares Southampton to take on Liverpool in the Carabao Cup
Former Brighton coach Simon Rusk does not know how long he will be in interim charge at Southampton.
Rusk has taken over at St Mary’s on a temporary basis following Russell Martin’s sacking on Sunday in the wake of the 5-0 loss to Tottenham.
Another former Brighton man Graham Potter has been linked with the full-time job at St Mary’s as has Sheffield Wednesday boss Danny Röhl.
Rusk – who spent six seasons with Brighton under-23s – has been thrown in at the deep end as the Southampton under-21 manager takes charge of a Carabao Cup quarter-final against Liverpool on Wednesday.
He does not know whether he will be in charge beyond the St Mary’s clash or who the club are looking to appoint as Martin’s successor.
He said at his pre-match press conference: “This is a great honour for me, I have worked at the club since the summer and it has great tradition with a loyal fanbase.
“The right thing for me to do is focus on the job at hand – it will be a proud moment for me no doubt.
“I’m solely focusing on Liverpool. Communication has been very clear and I’m sure we’ll know after Liverpool.”
Rusk only spoke to his players for the first time on Tuesday but despite their predicament at the foot of the Premier League table where they are nine points adrift of safety after picking up just five points from their first 16 games, Rusk said the future of the club was bright.
“My experience in development is about not creating pressure for young players who aren’t perhaps ready,” he added.
“In principle we have one or two young players who we are quite excited about. The club are very progressive in looking for young talent.
“I think we can be optimistic about that in the next 18 months.”
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