SOUTHAMPTON, England (AP) – Southampton hired Nathan Jones as manager Thursday after he decided to leave second-tier club Luton.
Jones faces a tough first leg against Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday before a six-week World Cup break.
Southampton sacked Ralf Hasenhütl on Monday with the team in third-to-last place in the English Premier League.
Jones was in his second spell as Luton manager and led the team to the Championship play-offs last season.
“A lot of my family are Southampton fans and that doesn’t help,” said Jones, who has signed a three-and-a-half-year deal, “and I’m very, very proud to have been given the opportunity and I’m really looking forward to the start.
“Obviously I wanted to work in the Premier League, I’ve dreamed about it since I became a coach or a manager, but this club in particular because of the way they’re run, because of the structure, because of- for the way they look deeper than just the results – I really like it.”
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