Ivan Juric watches on as solid Southampton claim point at Fulham | Premier League

It seems it wasn’t so exhausting in spite of everything. Southampton stopped giving the ball away in their very own half, adopted an strategy rooted in expediency and saved their second clear sheet of the marketing campaign. Salvation stays a good distance distant however some extent, solely the second they’ve taken away from house, means there’s at the least one thing to construct on within the post-Russell Martin period.

Southampton’s new coach, Ivan Juric, who signed an 18-month contract on Friday, was within the stand at Craven Cottage, peering via the bitter rain driving down the Thames as Simon Rusk carried out affairs from the dugout. What he oversaw was 90 minutes of little or no, which from a Southampton standpoint will need to have come as a welcome change. Even the arrival, for his league debut, of the Fulham winger Martial Godo, for which all people has been ready, did not carry something approaching decision.

“The position of interim supervisor when issues haven’t labored out is to rapidly assess the place the group is at bodily, emotionally, mentally and tactically and ship a manner of being within the quick time period,” Rusk mentioned. “Their endeavour and focus ranges have been glorious and hopefully that can provide us a stable platform.”

Juric developed a high quality fame in his three years at Torino, however a 12-game stint at Roma this season maybe hints on the main purpose he has been appointed: there was no compensation to be paid. Southampton had held talks with their former assistant coach Danny Röhl however springing him from his contract at Sheffield Wednesday would have been expensive.

It’s not totally clear what Juric beneficial properties from the state of affairs. A fan of heavy steel, he has graduated from his teenage love of Metallica and Megadeth to Obituary and Carcass; within the context of Southampton’s season, the gags are too apparent to be value making. The official line is that he doesn’t take over crew affairs till Monday, and Rusk mentioned that within the temporary phone dialog he had with Juric they didn’t talk about ways, nevertheless it was notable that the 3-4-2-1 form – nearly the one formation Southampton had not tried this season – is what Juric most well-liked at Torino and Roma.

The Croatian might communicate of being optimistic and eager to make the crew press more durable and be extra aggressive, however he’s in severe hazard of what is likely to be termed the Jan Siewert Entice. Even when he can enhance performances, it might require one thing miraculous for Southampton to keep away from relegation which, nearly inevitably, means misplaced confidence and diminished religion in him.

Siewert, having been appointed in January 2019 to information Huddersfield via their relegation, was sacked three video games into the next season. Loads of groups have believed there was knowledge in letting a brand new supervisor get a close-up view of the squad as they went down, the higher to guide their promotion push the next season, solely to search out that rebirth strangled by negativity.

However there have been promising indicators right here. On the very least, Southampton weren’t the pushovers they’d develop into. As soon as Aaron Ramsdale, carrying a modified glove to guard his fractured finger, had tipped an early Alex Iwobi chip over the bar, it was a primary half of little or no incident. The principle curiosity was seeing simply how lengthy Ramsdale may take over a goal-kick with out incurring the wrath of the referee, Tim Robinson. However given his namesake as soon as spent a tour of Pakistan batting with Invoice Athey, maybe endurance goes with the title.

“After all we respect them,” mentioned Marco Silva, “however that is the kind of recreation now we have to win at house. The sport was at all times below management however our decision-making must be significantly better. Gamers are human beings and typically they don’t make the most effective choices.”

Fulham started the weekend eighth having misplaced solely 4 instances within the league but, properly as they’re taking part in, there’s an odd sense that it wouldn’t have taken a lot for his or her league place to be even higher. They’ve led in opposition to Tottenham, Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester Metropolis and Aston Villa with out successful. Another way, this too, as Silva mentioned, felt like a “missed alternative”.

The introduction of Raúl Jiménez and Adama Traoré to a much-changed facet on the hour introduced an uptick of their risk, Harry Wilson drawing a outstanding reflex save from Ramsdale as he met a Traoré cross with a agency volley on the again submit.

However this was a day for Rusk, a newly pragmatic Southampton and the glory of nothingness.