Tony Pulis has reportedly declined the previously vacant Cardiff City manager job as he believes he can one day become manager of Southampton.
As reported by The Sun via HITC, the former Middlesbrough manager, who has been unemployed since parting ways with the Championship side last May, turned down a chance to return to management with Cardiff as he thinks he can succeed Ralph Hasenhuttl at Southampton as well as Manuel Pellegrini at West Ham.
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Pulis was unable to take Boro to the Championship play-offs last season after missing out on a top-six finish, yet it remains puzzling why the former Stoke City and Crystal Palace boss believes he can take over Hasenhuttl’s post on the south coast as manager of Southampton.
Indeed, it has been made abundantly clear by The Southern Daily Echo that Hasenhuttl’s job as Saints boss remains safe heading into the January transfer window, where it is expected that the former RB Leipzig manager will be cautiously looking for players to sign to improve Southampton’s current problematic position in the league standings.
The Saints currently sit 19th in the Premier League table and have conceded the most goals out of any side in the division, yet despite these two poor records, only three points stand between Southampton and escape from the bottom three.
Although Pulis has formed a reputation for himself in the Premier League as an escape artist of sorts after keeping both Stoke and Crystal Palace in the English top-flight from precarious positions, replacing Hasenhuttl for the Welshman would be a step-back for Southampton akin to appointing Mark Hughes in 2018.
Hasenhuttl is beginning to feel the pressure as Saints manager, though replacing the Austrian coach with Pulis will be another poor decision from Southampton’s board if there to find themselves in this position.
