Ruben Selles gives Southampton hope amid relegation battle

Southampton is desperately searching to find some glimmer of hope this season and Ruben Selles’ will hope to provide that for the players

The sacking of Nathan Jones’ was a must for Southampton to advance as a club but many questions lay ahead on what the future may look like. It was reported by The Top Flight that the club had held discussions with former Leeds and RB Leipzig manager Jesse Marsch. The club was close to an agreement with Marsch but reportedly Marsch was not guaranteed a future at the club past this season.

39-year-old Ruben Selles has taken over as interim manager for the club, for the second time this season. He first took control of an EFL cup game against Sheffield Wednesday in 2022 which Southampton won on penalties after sacking Ralph Hasenhuttl.

Southampton’s first game since the departure of Jones’ was against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. The south coast club came out on top thanks to a James Ward-Prowse free kick and a perfectly executed tactical plan by Selles.

Southampton’s formation resembled Ralph Hasenhuttl’s 4-2-2-2 with a major focus on pressing the opposition’s back line. The team was able to weather the storm of Chelsea’s attack and ultimately won the game one 1-0.

Who is Southampton’s new manager Ruben Selles?

Selles was brought in last summer as an assistant coach for Ralph Hasenhuttl from Danish side FC Copenhagen after the club saw a massive overhaul in its coaching staff. Selles has had a variety of spells in an assistant coach role around Europe. He briefly was the manager of Valencia’s U18 side in 2020.

What is maybe most remarkable about Selles’ rise to his position as interim manager of a Premier League club is that he graduated from the University of Valencia with a degree in Sports and Physiology with a masters degree. Selles is not a former professional player like many managers and made his way into the business by becoming a fitness coach for Greek club Aris Thessaloniki. Selles also briefly took a spell away from coaching and became the Chief Data Analyst for Stromsgodset.

According to The Athletic’s Jacob Tanswell, Ruben Selles is very well-liked by the Southampton players, especially because of his straightforwardness. He is able to reach out and find the burning passion within the players.

What lies ahead for Southampton and Ruben Selles is yet to be seen. It is believed by multiple reports that the club is very interested in making him manager for the rest of the season. The fight to stay in the Premier League for Southampton will be difficult but is an encouraging sign to see the players back a manager so much.

Should Selles help the club ultimately escape the drop, it would become one of the better rises to the top for a manager in a long time.