Southampton confirm Ruben Selles has SIGNED as manager until end of the season

Rubén Selles has signed an agreement to become Southampton manager until the end of the season, as confirmed by the club.

The Spaniard was put in charge of the struggling Premier League side after the sacking of Nathan Jones earlier this month, and has impressed during his short stint as caretaker boss, winning 1-0 against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge at the weekend. past.

Southampton confirmed they would take over permanently in a statement on Friday, a day before their crucial six-point clash with relegation rivals Leeds at Elland Road.

“Saints FC can confirm today that Ruben Selles has been appointed Men’s First Team Manager until the end of the 2022/23 season,” the club said on Twitter.

Selles, who was a highly respected assistant to Ralph Hasenhuttl, made no secret of his desire to take over the Saints permanently last week, urging that he had been waiting in the wings for several years, confident in his ability as a future first-team player. . boss.

Ruben Selles ‘has signed a deal to become Southampton manager until the end of the season’

The Spaniard led Southampton to an impressive 1-0 win at Chelsea as caretaker manager

In November, he was briefly in the dugout after Southampton sacked Hasenhuttl, taking charge for one game before Jones was named.

During his pre-match press conference ahead of the shock win at Chelsea, Selles insisted: “I want to be the manager. I think I’m just as capable of doing that as anyone else, but it’s not my decision.

‘I have the team now and we are really working hard to do our best. Those are my skills.

Southampton fans were quick to see Selles back up his claims when James Ward-Prowse helped send the Saints to a narrow victory at Stamford Bridge, lifting the club to three points from safety.

After a long spell of misery at the foot of the Premier League, Southampton are hoping that Selles can reignite positivity among the fans and clear away the dark cloud of hopelessness that has surrounded St Mary’s for much of this season.

The 39-year-old, who began his career as a fitness trainer with Greek team Aris Thessaloniki in 2008, has plied his trade as a coach and assistant at European clubs such as FC Copenhagen, Valencia and Qarabag.

Selles earned his professional license from UEFA at the age of 25 and gained valuable managerial experience as Valencia’s under-18 head coach in 2020.

Despite their historic victory at Stamford Bridge, Selles has a lot to do to help Southampton avoid relegation to the Championship.

The Saints have lost 15 of their 23 league games so far this season and are therefore in pole position to go down, entrenched in a relegation fight alongside Leeds, West Ham, Bournemouth and Everton.

Wolves, Leicester, Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace could also enter the relegation picture, with just eight points separating Southampton from 12th in the league.

Leeds, who fired Jesse Marsch at the beginning of February, finally appointed Javi Gracia as their new manager on Tuesday.

As a result, Elland Road will host a battle between the new permanent bosses on Saturday, with both clubs desperately needing all three points.

A win for Southampton would knock the club out of bottom spot for the first time in 2023.

Saints initially looked to name Marsch following his departure from Elland Road, but talks with the American broke down because they could not agree on the terms of a contract.