Southampton appoint Selles as head coach for remainder of season

Ruben Selles will remain as head coach of Southampton for the remainder of the season. The South Coast club revealed the news prior to the coach’s customary press conference on Friday. Selles has twice been at the helm temporarily during the current campaign. Nevertheless, the 39-year-old will now remain at the post for near future.

Coach thrilled to be given opportunity with Saints

“It’s a pleasure for me. I think we all deserve it. All the technical staff and the full staff have been amazing in the last ten days together,” Selles said during the press conference. “For me, it’s a pleasure to lead such a unit and a good group of players.”

“I can tell you that I’m very thankful for the owners and for Martin [Semmens] for giving me the opportunity until the end of the season, and for all the support I got in the last week. Once the club decided that I was the person to take it until the end of the season, I just continued doing my job. It was nothing special, it was just about continuing the good work that we have been doing the last two weeks.”

Chelsea victory helped coach’s cause

The Spanish coach was given the opportunity as caretaker after Nathan Jones was fired from the role on February 12th. Selles guided the Saints to a victory against Chelsea last weekend. The team’s impressive display against the west London club last Saturday helped the coach keep the job for the remainder of the season.

Southampton nearly gave the head coaching job to Jesse Marsch. However, talks between the two sides fell apart after the American wanted a more stable contract. Instead, the Saints preferred to only award a short-term deal for the remainder of the season.

Nevertheless, Selles will now try to take the club out of the Premier League relegation zone. Despite the Chelsea win, Southampton is still currently bottom of the table. Although the gap between bottom and 17th-placed Bournemouth is now just three points. The Saints next face fellow bottom three team Leeds on Saturday in a massive matchup. The loser of the game could be in deep trouble in the relegation race.