‘We will go down’ – Southampton boss Ivan Juric concedes defeat as Wolves close in on safety

Manager Ivan Juric said Southampton will be relegated from the Premier League this season after watching his beleaguered side lose at home to 17th-placed Wolves at St Mary’s.

The 2-1 defeat leaves Saints 17 points behind Vitor Pereira’s team – and with a vastly inferior goal difference – with nine games left.

Southampton have now lost 24 of their 29 games this term and are only the fourth side in English top-flight history to lose nine consecutive home games in the same season, after Birmingham in 1985-86, Wolves in 2011-12 and Watford in 2021-22.

Data suppliers Opta also believe Southampton’s fate is sealed, giving them a 0% chance of avoiding an immediate return to the Championship.

“We will go down, but [we want to go down] with more fight, more dignity and more everything,” Juric told BBC Match of the Day.

“Today was another game [that suggests] we are not ready to take points. There is always something missing.

“The will to play well and to attack is there. The lads want to win and do their best. There are moments when we are not good enough, and that’s it.”

Southampton’s fate could be sealed in early April if results go against them, which would make them the third-earliest side to be relegated from the top flight after Derby County in 2007-08 and Huddersfield Town in 2018-19.

They still need two more points to match Derby’s all-time Premier League low of 11 from 17 years ago.