Southampton fans locked in Will Still sack debate - many urge Sport Republic to avoid big decision | OneFootball

The 32-year-old's immediate future remains up for debate as Saints' inconsistent campaign continued

Will Still's long-term future in charge of Southampton very much remains up for debate amongst supporters, with his side succumbing to yet another disappointing defeat in midweek.

The newly-relegated South Coast outfit's post-relegation hangover only worsened on Tuesday night, as they saw a 1-0 lead slip away at Ashton Gate, eventually losing 3-1 to Bristol City.

In what is being dubbed as the most 'wide-open' Championship campaign in many years, Saints were, unsurprisingly, cherry-picked as one of the main candidates for automatic promotion before the season got underway on August 8th.

That is, despite the fact the club had previously endured what was the second-worst season in the history of the Premier League, accumulating just two wins and a total of 12 points across the 38-game season last time out, only narrowly escaping the even-worse ignominy of levelling, or failing to even reach Derby County's all-time low haul of 11.

Still was named as Ivan Juric's long-term successor prior to the final day of the disastrous season after gaining a strong reputation for his exploits in Belgium and France despite being just 32 years of age.

Yet, just five months after being handed a three-year contract by ownership group, Sport Republic, it remains to be seen whether the young manager will last the course of the 46-game second tier campaign, with Saints currently residing in 17th place, just four points in front of Norwich City, who occupy the final spot inside the relegation zone after 11 games played.

Still's tenure in charge began in a fashion that would, in many ways, embody the opening weeks of the campaign for the newly-relegated side.

After overseeing a major squad overhaul, during which the likes of Manuel Fernandes, Kyle Walker-Peters and Aaron Ramsdale were among a raft of high-profile departures, Southampton opened their season with a dramatic comeback victory over newly-promoted Wrexham at St Mary's, with Ryan Manning and Jack Stephens scoring twice in the final minutes to complete the turnaround.

Since then, though, the only other victory of Saints' league campaign was yet another enthralling comeback at Sheffield United on September 30th, masterminded by the now-injured Ross Stewart.

A draw-heavy start has also been added to with dismal defeats to Stoke City, Hull City and the Robins, who wiped out Adam Armstrong's neat finish on 30 minutes through Anis Mehmeti's response three minutes later, before Scott Twine netted twice to end the scoring for the night.

At present, the Reds are also the worst-performing of the newly-relegated sides in comparison to Leicester City and Ipswich Town.

Yet, whilst Still continues to take a fair portion of responsibility, plenty of reactions to a tweet from Southampton-themed X account 'Saints Extra' show that a vast majority of supporters believe ownership group, Sport Republic, should shoulder most of the blame when assessing the club's plight.

One supporter kept it short and sweet in response to the post which asked for an assessment of Still, instead highlighting the rot which has well and truly set in through a run of four wins in the past 17 months.

Another Saints fan believes it is the players who must take the blame for recent performances, believing that replacing Still with another manager or head coach may not have the desired impact.

One supporter was certainly of the same opinion, whilst also echoing fellow murmurs of discontent towards Sport Republic and president, Dragan Solak.

A frustrated Saints fan remains none the wiser regarding Still's tactical nous at present, as well as whether that means a sack call should be made. He also drew up a comparison to Russell Martin, who won promotion through the play-offs at St Mary's two seasons ago.

Meanwhile, one supporter certainly made their stance clear, stating that the Saints boss cannot legislate for his players passing up golden opportunites to take points from tight contests.

Will Still will hope to be afforded time to change Southampton's fortunes

In his post-match press conference, Still referenced a distinct lack of cutting edge and desire from his players which saw them fall short once again, this time in the West Country.

Remarkably, though, Saints still have the second-highest xG total behind unbeaten league leaders, Coventry City, and have forged 26 big chances, yet 19 of those have been squandered.

By the law of averages, it suggests that, at some point, results will click for Still and Southampton can begin to climb what is, still, a congested Championship table at present.

However, failure to do so, beginning with another away trip to a Blackburn Rovers side in even worse form than themselves, and the aforementioned opinions may change heading towards the critical winter period.