Southampton confirm Ruben Selles as manager until end of season

Southampton have announced that Ruben Selles will remain in charge until the end of the term.

The Spaniard was appointed on an interim basis after Nathan Jones was dismissed on February 12.

Southampton won their first game under Selles last weekend, handing Chelsea a 1-0 defeat.

The 39-year-old will be eager to take the chance having been keen on becoming a manager for four years.

He will have to keep the Saints up to retain his job, and another win against Leeds United this weekend would go a long way.

The south coast club wanted to appoint former Whites boss Jesse Marsch as Jones’ successor.

However, talks between them and the American broke down and they have placed their faith in Selles.

He arrived at St Mary’s in July 2022 as an assistant to Ralph Hasenhuttl.

Southampton are convinced he can keep them in the Premier League, which speaks volumes.

The Valencia-born coach was also placed in temporary charge of the club when the Austrian was sacked last November.

He was in charge of the 1-1 draw against Sheffield Wednesday in the Carabao Cup. Southampton advanced to the next round after a penalty shootout win.

Selles began his career as a fitness coach at Greek club Aris Thessaloniki in 2008.

He left for the Villarreal youth team a year later before becoming assistant manager to Aleksandr Pobegalov at Shinnik Yaroslavl in 2010.

He returned to Aris in 2011 and worked as an assistant manager under five managers.

Selles then left to work as Chief Data Analyst at Norwegian club Strømsgodset Toppfotball.

He has since worked as assistant manager at Qarabag, Aarhus GF, FC Copenhagen and Qarabag.

Selles also managed the Valencia U18 team and will look to establish himself as a top manager.