Next Southampton manager odds: Russell Martin favourite for Saints return

Read the latest odds and tips as Southampton look to appoint a new manager following the sacking of Will Still

(REUTERS)

Southampton manager Will Still has become the latest managerial casualty of the 2025/26 season, with the Englishman departing with the Saints in 21st in the Championship.

It never quite worked out for the 33-year-old at St Mary’s, and while some blame will be directed towards the players and the club hierarchy, the fact remains that the Saints picked up just two wins to go alongside six draws and five losses to start the season.

This was never going to be a straightforward role to take after the Saints’ record-breaking relegation from the Premier League last season, but the club were widely expected to challenge for promotion this term and they now find themselves having drifted out to 9/1 in the Championship promotion odds.

Now betting sites are pricing up the likely candidates to take over from promising young manager Still, and it’s a familiar face who is currently leading the running.

Russell Martin took charge of Southampton previously between June 2023 and December 2024, steering the club to promotion at the first time of asking by beating Leeds 1-0 to win the play-off final at the end of 2023/24.

However, that success was followed by drastic failure in the top flight as the Englishman’s desired style of football failed to translate to the Premier League, and he left just under a year ago with the Saints having secured just one win in 16 matches.

Martin most recently took charge of a disastrous spell at Ibrox as Rangers boss, and he became the shortest-serving manager in Rangers’ history with his sacking on 5 October this year.

Despite all this, the 39-year-old is the favourite to take over at St Mary’s after the departure of Still, with football betting sites considering Michael Carrick, Brendan Rodgers and former Saints boss Ralph Hasenhuttl among the other favourites.

Next Southampton manager betting odds

Manager	Odds	Betting site
Russell Martin	6/4	BetVictor
Michael Carrick	5/1	talkSPORT BET
Brendan Rodgers	8/1	BetVictor
Ralph Hasenhuttl	8/1	BetVictor
Lee Carsley	8/1	William Hill
Alex Revell	14/1	Parimatch
Paul Heckingbottom	14/1	William Hill
Steven Gerrard	16/1	BetVictor
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer	16/1	Betano

Will Martin return to the south coast?

Russell Martin leads the running to take over at Southampton in a move that would certainly continue the recent trend of clubs re-hiring ex-managers, and though on paper this would be one of the stranger moves for the Saints to make, parts of it make sense.

Martin left Rangers on 5 October after a disastrous spell that included European humiliation at the hands of Club Brugge as the Ibrox club fell to eighth in the league table, and his 123-day tenure makes him the shortest-serving manager in the history of the club.

That spell will serve as a stain on his CV for many years, and the 39-year-old will likely need sustained success at the lower levels in order to be considered for big top-flight jobs again, which makes a return to the Saints an interesting proposition.

Martin already achieved lower-league success with Southampton’s promotion in 2023/24, and if he could do so again after the start they have had this term, it would certainly be an impressive achievement – so impressive, perhaps, that it would outweigh his Ibrox tenure and give him another chance at making it in the Premier League.

That is a huge ‘if’ but that alone is likely to be enough to tempt Martin – in addition to a return to a familiar club and league – while the Saints may look to a familiar face themselves as they look to avoid the disaster of back-to-back relegations.

Saints considering former Premier League bosses?

Another former Saints boss seems to be in the early running to make a return, as Ralph Hasenhuttl is priced at 7/1. While this makes the Austrian an outsider, he could be an interesting choice having most recently left Wolfsburg this year.

The 58-year-old previously enjoyed a successful spell at St Mary’s before departing in November 2022, avoiding relegation before finishing a respectable 11th in 2019/20, though he didn’t manage for almost 18 months before taking charge of Wolfsburg, eventually being sacked after just over a year at the German club.

Two more former Premier League bosses are regarded as more likely to take over the Saints job, with Michael Carrick priced as second-favourite early. Carrick enjoyed success in his last role at Middlesbrough and he is highly regarded despite not being able to lead the club to promotion. However, this is the sort of job that might not suit him at present, with little known as to what sort of job he is targeting after leaving the Riverside.

Brendan Rodgers is next up on the list, with the Northern Irishman having recently resigned from the Celtic job in dramatic and controversial circumstances. Rodgers has enjoyed mixed success in recent years, and while his record at Celtic has been impressive, he may regard himself as ‘above’ taking a job at a struggling Saints side at this point in time.

Intriguing names in the running

One of the more interesting names on the Southampton list could be Lee Carsley, with the former interim England boss priced at 8/1 to take the Saints job.

Carsley enjoyed success as Three Lions coach to add to the tournament success he achieved with the youth sides, and while he has returned to U21 duty since leaving the head coach post, he may well think that a step into club football suits him at this stage in his career. That would certainly be one of the more exciting appointments from big clubs in recent seasons.

Next up is former Rangers and Villa boss Steven Gerrard, who has not managed since leaving Saudi side Al-Effitaq earlier this year. He has enjoyed limited success since winning the Scottish league title with Rangers in 2020/21, but that means that a job at a lower-league side could well suit him as he hopes to rebuild his managerial career.

The names after Gerrard can be considered the real outsiders, with the duo of Paul Heckingbottom and Alex Revell also in the running according to the bookies.

The former is doing well as Preston boss, with his side sitting in sixth just six points off top in the Championship, with the latter also doing well as Stevenage manager, with his side in fourth in League One but just two points off top and with two games in hand. Neither look likely to leave a promising position for a job at risk of relegation.

Finally, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is someone for whom a return to the lower leagues could be tempting even in these circumstances, with the former United boss failing to find any success since leaving Old Trafford in 2021 .

He joined Besiktas earlier this year but only lasted seven months, and while a job like this might make sense as he bids to rebuild his reputation, odds of 16/1 reflect the fact that it is not a likely move for either party to make.

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