Southampton boss Ivan Juric is desperate for his players to prove they are not the “worst team in the history of the Premier League”.
The Saints have endured a miserable season, currently sitting bottom of the Premier League and 17 points from safety after just two wins all season.
They have just nine points from their 29 games so far, two shy of Derby County’s total of 11 in 2007-08 and having only picked up three points since December, they are in real danger of failing to reach that tally.
“The team has to be competing and try to do our best. We have to be really motivated,” said Juric, whose Southampton side host FA Cup semi-finalists Crystal Palace on Wednesday.
“I don’t want it to be that we are the worst team in the history of Premier League.
“If we can be not the last on the table, we have to do our best, so in this moment, this is our goal.
“I think we are in good shape, we can do it and we will try to win the match.”
Juric coy over future
Juric took over from Russell Martin in December but has failed to prevent the promoted side’s plight, as the South Coast side prepare for another seaosn back in the Championship.
The former Torino and Roma boss stopped short of comitting his future to the club past this season and said he was focused on the immediate challenges.
“I think if you want to create something, you have to have people with a strong idea, knowing what they want and start to build up something, start to create something,” he said.
“Sometimes, though, you come to try to do it best with the players you have.”
Worst ever Premier League teams
Derby’s infamous 2007-08 season is the current worst ever tally from 38 games of a Premier League, but who are the other sides to collect low points tallies.
Before Derby, it was Sunderland who had the unwanted tag of the worst team in history after collecting a measly 15 points during the 2005-06 season.
Sheffield United went close to finishing lower than that in 2023-24, the same as Huddersfield mustered in 2018-19.
Current Champions League quarter-finalists Aston Villa will also go down as one of the worst the top flight has seen after chaotic campaign in 2015-16 in which they were able to collect only 17 points as they dropped out of the Premier League for the first time.
Derby 2007-08 – 11 pointsSunderland 2005-06 – 15 pointsSheffield United 2023-24 – 16 pointsHuddersfield 2018-19 – 16 pointsAston Villa 2015-16 – 17 points
