2. The Unrealistic Ambitions Of Nicola Cortese
Since Cortese bought the club in 2009, the ruthless Italian chairman has overseen four manages during his tenure, with Mauricio Pochettino becoming the fifth man to take charge in barely four years. The likes of Mark Wotte, Alan Pardew and Dean Wilkins have been and gone, until Adkins took charge in 2010. He sacked Pardew amid reports that there was tension between the pair*, and the dismissal of Adkins only serves to prove just how cut-throat he can be. You have to wonder what it is that he expects from Southampton. They have only just been promoted back into the Premier League and considering they went into administration in 2009** and almost ceased to exist, you could argue they are lucky to even be in that position. Southampton were never going to make any forays toward the top half of the table so soon after coming up, despite the fact that they took the Championship by storm to gain straight promotion last season. All Southampton could really have hoped for from this season was to stay up, and Adkins was on the way to achieving that. Source(s): *
Telegraph, **
BBC