Report: Hughes faces sack if Saints don’t beat Watford

Mark Hughes could be sacked by Southampton on Sunday if they fail to beat Watford in the Premier League, according to reports.

The Saints were hammered 6-1 by Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday with no victories in their last seven matches and only one all season.

And the Daily Express claims that anything less than a win on Saturday could spell the end for Hughes with the board ‘ready to act’.

The fans have become disillusioned with the style of play under Hughes with the loss to City their heaviest in six years, while it left them two points above the relegation zone.

There could be time for change with the report adding that Sam Allardyce, David Moyes and Leonardo Jardim are top of a list of potential replacements for Hughes.

While the Daily Express claims that former Southampton boss Gordon Strachan would be a popular choice amongst fans.

Despite Jardim being high up the Saints board’s list of potential candidates, it looks like he will end up in the Chinese Super League after being sacked by Monaco.

Hughes was in a similar position with QPR in 2012 when he could only amass four points from their first 13 matches of the campaign.

After being sacked by the London club, he then insisted “I don’t do relegation” during his time at Stoke in December 2017.

And last January, Stoke City sacked Hughes with the club in the drop zone, before they were relegated to the Championship at the end of the campaign.