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Southampton Football Club Issue Statement After Relegation

With relegation confirmed after the defeat to Fulham on Saturday, Saints oweners Sports Republic have wasted little time in issuing a statement confirming their intentions going forward.

Saints supporters have been expressing their dissatisfaction with all that has happened at St Mary's this season and on Saturday the team went down with a whimper and not a fight.

There are those that say the club is rotten to the core, I am not one of them and I reiterate that the past is now done, it cannot be changed, but the future can be and it is good to see that Sports Republic acted swiftly to put down their intentions for next season.

This is good news and hopefully indicates that they have learned some vital lessons and can make sure that they don't make them again.

Fine words are easy to say, but a lot harder to do, my opinion is that we can pinpoint just where we went wrong and are in a strong position to put right what went wrong.

The first thing is leadership and direction at board level and that is already about to change with the arrival of Jason Wilcox as Director of Football, he will oversee and exodus of players that will bring in around £150-200 million in transfer fees.

He will also be left with a squad that will have a good core of up and coming youngsters, both those brought in and also those that have developed within the club since they were at school.

Add to that some of the experienced players who will still be there and do not need to spend much of those transfer fees, the situation is very much like was last summer, we need experienced leaders through the spint of the team, in the centre of defence, in the centre of midfield and a proven striker.

Here is the statement from the club.

"Today is a hugely disappointing day for everyone associated with Southampton Football Club. We have fought tirelessly as a club throughout the season, but the Premier League is the most competitive league in the world and our results were simply not good enough to stay there.

'"We are particularly saddened and frustrated that our first season as controlling shareholders in Southampton Football Club has ended in relegation. While this outcome is distressing for all of us, now is the time to demonstrate unity. We are grateful to our managers, our players, our staff and above all our fans for battling to the end to keep the Saints in the top tier.

"Our work begins today to return Southampton Football Club — an inaugural member of the Premier League with a rich history — to where it belongs. We want to reassure our supporters, our partners and our staff that we remain fully committed to achieving long-term success for the club at the top level.

"We must now reflect on the lessons to be learned from this season and start preparing for the challenges ahead of us in the Championship. Our goal is to return to the Premier League as soon as possible and ensure that we stay there.

"At the same time, we will continue to focus on the long-term development of the club, both on and off the pitch, to ensure its sustainability at the highest level. We understand that significant improvement is required, and at the end of the season we will announce our immediate next steps and provide details of how the club will operate moving forward.

"We cannot thank our fans enough for the fantastic support they have given the team throughout the season. Your commitment to the club is an inspiration and one of the foundations that will support Southampton’s return to the top flight. Dragan, Henrik & Rasmus"

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