Ivan Juric hinted at the lack of season preparations as a factor that hindered him from displaying his wealth of coaching experience at St. Mary's.
The moment any manager is shown the exit door at a particular club, their on-field association also ends. Still, that point is the beginning of their off-field relations which can be either sound as a fond recollection or a plethora of constant complaints.
Among them, the former is the desired scenario which was on display during Russell Martin's last week's comments. But the Saints must keep in mind that Martin oversaw a successful season here which isn't always the same with other former coaches.
In this regard, one doesn't need to glance further than Ivan Juric, who too, signed his new management contract recently. Plus, the Croatian also returned to a well-familiar division like Martin but the former still feels the Southampton sacking was an unjustified event.
Juric rues bad transfer timing impacted his Saints stay
As quoted by Football Italia, Juric told Tutto Mercato: "These were two situations where I took over with the season already started under very different coaching methods. It is fundamental for my work to start from pre-season."
No doubt, Juric was tasked with a mid-season damage control but atleast a relegation avoiding push was still possible at that stage. And despite only getting a couple of new faces in January, Juric was unable to instil a sense of point-winning belief in the Saints dressing room.
Thus, it's still hard to imagine whether Juric would've restored Southampton's Premier League status for another year if he had been handed the baton right after Martin's promotion-winning moment.
Again, blaming the past isn't in the best interests of both Southampton and Juric. Ultimately, let's hope both parties close that miserable chapter with some key takeaways to excel in the upcoming season.
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