Ross Stewart, formerly of Sunderland, made his long-awaited return from injury this past weekend, but it was a bittersweet moment. The striker featured for Southampton in their match against Tottenham—a game that confirmed the club’s relegation to the Championship.
Southampton’s drop marks a new low in Premier League history, as they became the first team to be relegated with seven games still remaining in the season. This breaks the previous record held jointly by Ipswich Town (1994-95) and Derby County (2007-08), both of whom were relegated with six matches left. To make matters worse, the Saints are now at risk of finishing the season with the lowest points tally ever recorded in the Premier League.
Stewart’s journey with Southampton has been far from smooth. The striker joined the club from Sunderland in 2023 for a fee of around £10 million, despite being sidelined with an injury at the time. Since then, he has only managed 10 appearances for the Saints. After a brief return to action with the under-21s earlier this year, another minor setback forced him out again. His most significant blow came last October, when he lasted just 27 minutes in his first senior start before suffering another injury. Prior to that, he made four substitute appearances under then-manager Russell Martin, including one against Arsenal where his comeback was again cut short.
Despite these challenges, Stewart finally returned to the senior side for the clash against Tottenham—only to see his comeback overshadowed by Southampton’s confirmed relegation.
After the match, Southampton manager Ivan Juric spoke with emotion about the fans’ loyalty. “It’s a new experience,” he said. “I told the players they must be thankful to have fans like this. Even in relegation, they showed immense love for their team. It’s an incredible part of English football culture, and particularly Southampton’s.”
Juric acknowledged that the club’s long-term issues led to their downfall. “If you’re relegated too easily after two years in the Premier League, something is deeply wrong. Now is the time to reflect on the mistakes made over the last few years and build something better. These fans deserve that.”
Determined to stay and help the club bounce back, Juric added, “It would be easy to walk away now, but we owe it to the supporters to keep fighting. Being a Premier League coach is a privilege—even if my journey back here took time, I’m ready. One thing I’ve noticed since arriving is the physical gap between us and other top-flight teams—something that also affected clubs like Leicester and Ipswich.”
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