Dusan Tadic has urged the Southampton board to retain Mark Hughes as manager beyond the end of the season after the club improved their survival chances by beating Bournemouth. Tadic, who scored twice in Southampton’s first home win since November, has credited Hughes with galvanising the club since his appointment on a short-term contract in March.
A mutual decision between the Welshman and the club hierarchy is expected to take place after the final game of the season, at home to Manchester City, one of Hughes’s former clubs, as to whether he will extend his stay. If he keeps Southampton in the top flight he is set to earn a survival bonus of almost £1m.
Hughes has delivered a more hardline approach to the squad since replacing Mauricio Pellegrino and last week ordered Sofiane Boufal to train with the under-23s after an altercation during the league defeat by Chelsea. Meanwhile the £19.3m club-record signing, Guido Carrillo, who arrived from Monaco in January – before Pellegrino’s dismissal – was again absent from the 18-man match‑day squad that gained their sixth league win of the season on Saturday, which leaves Southampton a point behind 17th-placed Swansea.
Tadic believes his team need to garner four more points from three matches – against Everton, Swansea and Manchester City – to retain their top-flight status.
Asked if he would like Hughes to be handed the long-term job, the Serbia midfielder replied: “I think he needs to stay in Southampton because he is a great coach and he’s a coach for Southampton – everyone can see that. It would be great for Southampton if he stayed. The most important thing now is that we stay in the league but he’s great for Southampton.
“When the new coach and his assistants came we did great in the training sessions, we touched the ball more, we felt immediately sharper. I feel sharper myself. For this we need to say thank you to them because they put a lot of great training on the pitch, every time; passing drills, possession, games .
“Everything is short and sharp and you can see that the whole team is looking sharper and quicker.
“He’s made a big difference. He’s a great coach and he was a great player. He’s a good guy and I think his assistants, Mark [Bowen] and Eddie [Niedzwiecki], they are great and they are helping us every day with advice.”
