Former Rangers man considered ‘leading contender’ to take charge at Southampton

We are just over one week away from the end of the league season in both Scotland and England and it is expected to be a busy summer of transfers on both sides of the border.

Not only do clubs opt to make wide scale changes in playing staff during the off season but many will likely look to make changes in the dugout to try and improve their fortunes. One of those clubs is Southampton who are the first English Premier League club to be confirmed as relegated from the division this season.

The Saints are said to be in the process of interviewing candidates to replace Ruben Selles, who took over from Nathan Jones in February but was unable to save them from the drop. Several names have been mentioned but it is actually a former Rangers and Scotland player who is said to be the ‘leading candidate’ for the role.

According to Sky Sports News, Swansea City boss Russel Martin, who spent time on loan at Ibrox in 2018 as a player and also won 29 caps for his country, is thought to be one of the favourites for the Southampton job. The 37-year old began his managerial career with MK Dons 2019 before taking over at the Swans in 2021 and guiding them to a tenth place finish in the Championship this season.

The former Norwich City and Peterborough Unite defender has earned praise as a coach for the positive, passing style of his teams and was even briefly rumoured to be in consideration for the Rangers job before Michael Beale’s appointment, although it’s unclear how substantial those reports were. Martin made 15 appearances and scored one goal during his brief stint at Ibrox.

The same report from Sky has also stated that a former Celtic manager is ‘not thought to be in the running’ for the vacancy at St Mary’s. Tony Mowbray brought Sunderland to the play-off semi finals in the Championship this season but his future at the Stadium of Light seems uncertain. However, the article claims he is not one of the contenders for the Southampton vacancy with the club looking to make an appointment by early July.