"MAYBE I was wrong... no, I was wrong," admitted Ivan Juric, in his final press conference as Saints boss, following his 12th Premier League defeat.
"Did you really think there was any chance of survival when you took this job," a reporter had asked him, after Sunday's 3-1 loss to Tottenham Hotspur.
Back in December, in his first media event at Staplewood Complex, Juric was a man filled with optimism despite the obvious challenge ahead.
Saints had six points from 17 matches and no team had ever survived in the Premier League from this position, so this outcome was always likely.
"The players don't know me but I know them and I believe in them. I think we can do something exceptional," argued the defiant Croatian.
There were encouraging signs in his first two; Saints were probably the better team in defeat to West Ham, and took the lead at Crystal Palace.
But that new manager bounce only meant an even harder crash landing, as 2025 started with much the same tone as the end of 2024.
A 5-0 defeat at home to Brentford put paid to any semblance of hope and was another loss in a run of 11 beatings to one win in 12 league outings.
Before he was sacked, Martin suggested he needed results in order to encourage the club to be active and take risks in the January transfer window.
If Saints felt there was hope, they might have spent. As it transpired, they signed just one player on loan, in the one position they did not need.
Albert Gronbaek has started two league matches, while Juric wanted a left-centre-back and a deal for Abakar Sylla fell through on deadline day.
Through no fault of his own, it left Juric without the tools required to play his style of football - but he persisted and, as a result, Saints suffered.
The implementation of his aggressive, continental-style man-to-man marking system was disastrous and eroded favour within the fanbase.
Each week it seemed to be that Juric was taught another lesson about his squad; regularly they felt like lessons that had already been taught.
"They can do it, they are young, they are positive and they want to work hard," he had said of his players, back before a ball was kicked.
After a 4-0 defeat to Brighton in February, he finally admitted they could not. Three days later, he tried it again against Chelsea. 4-0.
Juric did have to contend with bad injury luck along the way - particularly brutally in defence - further weakening an already substandard squad.
By the time he had accepted the shortcomings of his group, it was too late. Last week, mathematics meant relegation was finally on the cards.
Their midweek 1-1 draw was probably their best 91 minutes of the season - they still could not win - but the first half at Spurs was among their worst.
Juric leaves as the manager with the worst-ever points-per-game record in the Premier League, collecting 0.29 points for every three available.
Saints conceded 38 goals in Juric's 14 matches, having briefed upon appointment that solidifying the defence was one of his principle aims.
History dictated a feeling that Saints were already down by the time Juric stepped into Russell Martin's shoes, and that probably was the case.
Wolves, 17th place, but twice victors over Saints, and 12 points ahead of 18th themselves, are way better than any of the promoted three.
Ralf Rangnick - a role model of Saints technical director Johannes Spors - was laughed out of Old Trafford after his interim spell in 2022.
Much of what he said about Manchester United has rung true, and the testament of those witness to the club's limitations should be believed.
Juric sent a clear message to the board in his final press conference and it was the same one Martin sent in his first interview after being sacked.
"What I noticed the most is a completely different physicality between our players and the other teams in the Premier League," said Juric.
Sport Republic admitted that their biggest mistake during the 2022/23 Premier League season was too drastically changing the game model.
Going from Ralph Hasenhuttl to Nathan Jones and back meant a squad of unsuited and confused players, and the same has happened again.
Saints should now have clarity with technical director Johannes Spors leading the club's football department and he has made two big decisions already.
Darren Mowbray, head of recruitment, has paid for this season's failings with his job, and Juric has now joined him in looking for employment.
Spors has set out that Saints will continue to play a high-intensity pressing game with focus on being dangerous aerially and with set-pieces.
He predicts high player turnover this summer and recruitment will be crucial to the club's chances of an instant return to the Premier League.
Saints need to rediscover their identity again - as it happens, they have been so bad they can already plan for next season four months in advance.
