Southampton boss Nathan Jones has launched a fiery defence of his catastrophic stint in charge of the Premier League club.
Since taking the reins at The Valley in February 2024, Jones has rehabilitated his reputation with Charlton, but his ill-fated spell at St Mary’s will be remembered as one of the worst managerial reigns in top flight history.
Nathan Jones’ 95 day nightmare in Southampton in the Premier League
He was sacked by Stoke City before returning for a second term at Luton in May 2020, with the team in the Championship, and saved them from relegation to League One before leading them to 12th and sixth-placed finishes in the Championship in the following two seasons respectively.
Jones had already switched from Kenilworth Road to St Mary’s in November 2022, when Premier League side Southampton came knocking, with the Hatters still in play-off contention in the early stages of the 2022-23 season, replacing Ralph Hasenhuttl.
Jones’ troubles had intensified under the Welshman, who had managed only one league win in eight games and lost seven. The Saints were 18th in the top tier when Jones arrived.
Jones did have some highs as he guided Southampton to the Carabao Cup semi-finals following a memorable 2-0 quarter-final victory over Manchester City, but he was sacked after only 95 days in charge in February 2023 with the club bottom of the table and four points adrift of safety.
Nathan Jones’ Saints record
Games &
14
Won 5
0 Lost Draw
9
Percent of winning
35.7%
Jones left and Ruben Selles took over the Saints for the rest of the season, but he could not save the team from relegation back to the Championship after 11 years in the Premier League.
Charlton Athletic boss Nathan Jones targets dig at former club Southampton
It’s fair to say Jones’ stint at St Mary’s is not fondly remembered by Southampton supporters and it seems the sentiment is mutual with the 53-year-old admitting it was a difficult moment as he became the shortest-serving manager in the club’s history.
However, Jones said he was not the main contributor to the Saints’ issues during his tenure on the South Coast, highlighting they have also suffered in the Premier League under a number of other managers in recent years. “I don’t know what the Premier League supporters think of me,”
Jones told The Standard.Listen, it was a hard time. With all due respect, Southampton were not winning when I walked in, did not win many when I was there, did not win many when I walked out.
When they returned three managers didn’t win any games anyway. “There’s a common denominator behind that and it’s not Nathan Jones.”
Jones was out of job for nearly a year after quitting Southampton before joining Charlton, and he maintained the Addicks in the League One in the 2023-24 campaign before guiding them to promotion to the Championship the following season by beating Leyton Orient in the play-off final at Wembley.
Charlton finished 19th in their first season back in the second division last season, seven points clear of the relegation zone. They presently sit ninth in the table after picking up 12 points from their opening eight games.
Nathan Jones could still rue leaving Luton Town for Southampton
It is, of course, hard for any manager to turn down the chance to manage in the Premier League and the financial incentives that come with it, but Jones may come to regret taking the Southampton position.
Just months after Jones’ departure Luton won promotion from the Championship so there’s every chance he would have reached the top flight with the Hatters at some stage, whereas Saints were already in relegation danger when he arrived and it was always going to be a tough task to keep them up.
There have been plenty of other managers at Southampton who have failed in the Premier League over the last few years, such as Selles, Russell Martin and Ivan Juric, so Jones is right in that aspect. However, his spell in charge was particularly catastrophic and it is hard to see him managing among England’s elite again, unless he can win another promotion with Charlton.
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