Mark Hughes to Southampton – why it is a no-brainer for a club that makes bad decisions

MARK HUGHES has emerged as the leading candidate to become the new Southampton manager tasked with saving the club from relegation.

Hughes is without a job after being sacked by Stoke earlier this season to replace Mauricio Pellegrino in the hot-seat at St Mary's.

Saints swung the axe after finally losing patience with Pellegrino with the club just one point and one place outside the bottom three.

Some are questioning the wisdom of plumping for a manager who was dumped after leading his side into relegation trouble - but Hughes has his merits.

SunSport's Graeme Bryce looks at the case for and against the ex-Blackburn and QPR manager taking over at a club he played for earlier in his career.

The Case For...

Southampton have no time to waste, so appointing Mark Hughes as their new boss should be a no-brainer.

Which seems appropriate for a club which has made some pretty BRAINLESS decisions lately?

What’s important now is Saints don’t commit the cardinal sin of gambling on their Premier League status by rushing to appoint someone who is going to need a period of adjusting to the Premier League.

HUGHES THE MAN Mark Hughes in line to be named new Southampton boss

They need someone with broad shoulders, someone who has an unshakeable belief in his own ability and who knows what makes Saints fans tick.

With just eight Premier games remaining – plus one FA Cup quarter-final – the club needs someone who can hit the ground running.

Hughes ticks every one of those boxes, which is why I’d argue he is a better fit than Marco Silva who has yet to live up to the hype which surrounds him.

Having starred for Saints as a player, Hughes isn’t going into the difficult role blind.

He knows Saints’ squad inside out – well enough to plot their downfall when his Stoke side beat them 2-1 back in November. He knows their strengths and weaknesses.

He is also aware Southampton’s starry-eyed supporters like to be entertained, and that fits in with his own philosophy of playing football from the back and through midfield.

Of course there will be plenty who will claim Hughes is damaged goods after he was sacked by Stoke – but Carlos Carvahal has proved at Swansea one bad run of results doesn’t make you a bad boss.

Hughes has the experience, knowledge and, crucially for this snoozy squad, he has the passion required to get the best out of some demoralised players who are under-achieving.

Sparky starred for Manchester United, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Chelsea before heading for Saints – and that brings with it a certain swagger which is missing at St Mary’s right now.

What are you waiting for Saints?

The Case Against...

Mark Hughes was no angel as a player and could dish it out with the best of them.

But it was his obsession with giving bad boys a second chance which ultimately led to his downfall at Stoke.

Hughes started the way he meant to go on in the Potteries with his first signing as Stoke boss.

Departing gaffer Tony Pulis had washed his hands of Jermaine Pennant and released him. Hughes’ first move at Stoke was to recall bad-boy Pennant and hand him a new deal.

It set a trend as Hughes made a habit of signing players who were viewed as damaged goods by others, with hair-trigger tempers or dodgy temperaments.

Hughes could see the value of polishing up these rough diamonds for the Potters and picked up a number of bargains in the process.

Erik Pieters, a Dutch international, had blotted his copybook at PSV Eindhoven by punching a glass door, injuring himself in the process.

But Hughes picked him up for a bargain £3million and he has paid the Potters back over and over again with some outstanding displays over the years.

Peter Odemwingie was another high risk signing who produced the goods in Hughes’ first season.

Obviously every high-risk signing didn’t pay off but there were plenty who did and saved Stoke a fortune.

Signing Marko Arnautovic for £2m and taming the Austrian wild child - turning a £20m profit on him - was one of Hughes’ best ever moves.

Likewise Stephen Ireland, Bojan, Xherdan Shaqiri and Phil Bardsley all made good impacts and were worth the effort and risk.

However two signings in his final season will haunt Hughes.

Saido Berahino and Kevin Wimmer were two expensive signings who flopped spectacularly and tarnished Hughes’ reputation as a shrewd, if risky buyer.

Some of that was down to Stoke’s recruitment team but there is no doubt Hughes wanted Berahino, who has now gone two years without a goal.

Saints have produced a conveyor belt of talent for many years.

Hughes might be better off leaving the signings to others and focusing his efforts on producing winners …. rather than Wimmers!