Will Still’s Southampton Challenge: Could This Be the Moment He Silences All Doubters?

Last season was an absolute nightmare for Southampton supporters—brutal hardly begins to cover it. After clinching that hard-fought victory against Leeds United at Wembley in May 2024, what awaited the Saints was a merciless Premier League slog, tallying just two wins, a meager 12 points, and cycling through three different managers on the sidelines. The earliest relegation in Premier League history shook the club to its core, signaling the urgent need for a massive overhaul as they prepared to face the challenges of the Championship once again. This wasn’t just a reset; it was a complete renaissance, with the club placing its faith in the 32-year-old wunderkind Will Still—one of Europe’s most buzzed-about young coaches—to lead the charge back to respectability and success. Brace yourself as we dive deep into Southampton’s remarkable turnaround and explore what this fresh chapter under Still’s guidance could mean for the Saints’ future. LEARN MORE

Southampton fans had to endure one of the most wretched top-flight seasons in recent memory last year.

Saints’ prize for beating Leeds United in the play-off final at Wembley in May 2024 was a gruelling Premier League campaign that brought about just two wins, a total of 12 points and three managers in the dugout.

After the earliest relegation in Premier League history, the club knew an almighty reset was in order ahead of their return to the Championship and that’s exactly what they’ve done.

Opportunity knocks for Will Still

This reset involved hiring 32-year-old Will Still as the club’s new manager, as Southampton moved to give one of Europe’s most-talked-about young coaches – who was ranked at no.46 in FourFourTwo’s list of the best managers in the world earlier this summer – his first opportunity in English football.

Still’s coaching career began in Belgium, with a short caretaker stint in charge of Lierse in 2017, before taking over at Beerschot. He then moved to France and settled into roles at Reims and then Lens, before taking the opportunity to return to home soil earlier this summer.

He arrives at St Mary’s with a lofty reputation, with his first job being to revitalise the relegated Saints.

And Sky Sports presenter David Prutton believes that Still has the type of personality to embrace this challenge and answer the naysayers who are questioning his lack of experience.

“There’s been media hype about him since a couple of years ago, when there was all that talk of Reims paying a fine of £22,000 every time he managed them, because he didn’t have his UEFA Pro Licence,” former Saints and Leeds United midfielder David Prutton tells FourFourTwo.

“ As a coach, he was the wonderkid. I’m sure there’ll be some Southampton fans who’ll have their arms folded and say: ‘Come on then, Will Still, let’s see what you’re made of and what all the hype is about.’

“But from what I’ve seen, heard and know of Will, he’ll be relishing that opportunity. It’s almost like, ‘What’s all the hype been about? Now I can show you’.”

Southampton kick off their 2025/26 season with an eye-catching home clash against promoted Wrexham before they travel to fellow relegated side Ipswich Town.