Rumours coming out of Southampton suggest a worrying trend could be about to repeat itself.
When Southampton were relegated from the Premier League in the 2022/23 season, owners Sport Republic sought to rebuild the club both behind the scenes and on the pitch.
Jason Wilcox was appointed as Director of Football, with Rasmus Ankersen taking a less involved role with his focus turning more to sister club Goztepe.
Wilcox had identified that the secret to long-term, sustainable success was through playing a possession-focused brand of football. Therefore, it was he who made the decision to appoint Russell Martin as manager in the summer.
Wilcox has since left, taking the job as Manchester United technical director in their new look regime.
Now, it looks as though another key member of backroom staff could join him in heading for the exit in what is becoming a worrying trend.
Southampton head of academy recruitment set to leave this summer
The timing of Wilcox’s departure was far from ideal, as it was initially reported during Southampton’s loss to promotion rivals Ipswich Town on Easter Monday.
Wilcox had quickly become a key figure at the club and his working relationship with Martin looked set to be a fruitful one, but the lure of Manchester United proved too much.
In May Southampton also announced the departures of under-21 coach Adam Asghar and assistant academy director Tash Patel, whilst head of recruitment Joe Shields accepted a job at Chelsea just three-and-a-half months after making the move to Southampton in Summer 2022.
According to the Daily Echo, the Saints could now be set to lose their head of academy recruitment, Jack Chapman, just a year after joining the club as he looks set to take up a role at Tottenham Hotspur.
According to the report, ‘Saints academy chiefs believe these departures are a consequence of recruiting good staff’, however it is concerning that the club cannot seem to keep staff.
Backroom stability needed for Southampton success on the pitch
Whilst the backroom staff at a football club is never too high on the list of concerns of fans, a lack of stability off the pitch can have a negative impact on it.
The positive for Southampton is that Sport Republic seem keen to learn from past mistakes and are working hard to rectify transfer mishaps both of their own doing and that of the previous regime.
Wilcox’s departure was a bitter pill to swallow given how involved he had become with the recruitment side of the club and the fact that Martin was very much his appointment.
However, the talk before the play-offs suggested that Sport Republic felt Martin was the man to take the club forward even if they had missed out on promotion, with a stable environment favoured.
Constant change is rarely a successful business model for any football club and Southampton will hope the staff they bring in to replace those leaving end up being longer-term appointments.