Portsmouth flop is expected to take the Southampton job

Tony Adams is Sky Bet’s 8/11 favourite to be named Saints’ boss

Photo Credit: Chris Ison/PA Wire

After months of bad news, things seemed to be looking up for Southampton last week: the club were saved from going instinct and star player Kelvin Davis spurned West Ham’s advances to stay at St Mary’s.

However, any Saints fans who were getting their hopes up about a brighter future will have been disappointed to hear that after much talk of Gordon Strachan - the man who took them to the 2003 FA Cup Final - returning, Tony Adams is Sky Bet’s 8/11 favourite for the job.

Adams spent three-and-a-half months in charge of Portsmouth last season before being sacked and the last man to take charge of Southampton shortly after leaving Pompey - Harry Redknapp - got them relegated and deserted them while languishing 12th in the Championship to return to Fratton Park.

chickendinner like Tony Adams and feel he was hard done by at Portsmouth, taking charge of a squad which was already in decline before being weakened further in January and not being given enough time to turn things round.

However, the fact remains he has yet to succeed as a manager and it surely wouldn’t be a popular move for new Southampton chairman Markus Liebherr to appoint someone who failed at his club’s biggest rivals.

Strachan is still available at 7/4 with Steve Coppell 7/2 but beyond them the nearest contenders are Alan Pardew and Peterborough boss Darren Ferguson, who are both on offer at 20/1.

Posted: July 13th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn |