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BT Sport Journalist: Manchester City have confirmed the departure of Chilean manager Manuel Pellegrini after a 1-1 draw away to Stoke City yesterday evening. The decision comes as little surprize to most fans who currently find themselves in 6th place in the league. Although, City’s European form has been impressive, seeing them through to the round of 16 after finishing 2nd in their group, locked on 15 points with Atlético Madrid, who topped the group on goal difference. Many pundits are tipping Frank de Boer and Unai Emery as the Chilean’s most likely replacement. A failure to qualify for Champions League football next season could likely see the Citizens having to offload some of their high wage players to comply with fanatical fair play regulations, given the absence of Champions League revenue.

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During his post-match press conference following his teams draw with Everton in the Europa League Quarter Final, Gareth Southgate stated that finishing 4th place in the Premier League this season may not be good enough to secure Champions League football come next season:

“Based on Liverpool’s brilliant form in the Europa League this season, 4th place might not be good enough to get us into the Champions League. We’re currently level with them on points, but if their European form is anything to go by, I think many will agree with me when I say that it’s looking likely no team will be able to keep them at bay. If they win, and we finish 4th in the league, then they will qualify for the Champions League, and we will drop into the Europa League. Therefore, our sights are set on 3rd place.” – Gareth Southgate.

Think you better just finish 3rd then mate

Still pushing for that 3rd position mate, keep it up!

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Southampton F.C have defied expectations by astonishingly finishing 3rd in the Premier League after brushing past Aston Villa at St Mary's Stadium this afternoon! A thirtieth minute strike from Southampton's superstar Raheem Sterling opened the scoring, sending the Saint's fans into raptures. Berahino added a second from the penalty spot on seventy-fourth minute, before Sterling added his second of the game in extra time to place the cherry on the cake. Southampton needed a win on the final day to secure a safe birth straight into the Champions League group stage, and Sterling proved his world class statues in arguably the largest match in his clubs history. Southampton, who the bookies expected to finish 7th this season have become the topic on everyone's lips throughout world football in the past few months as they managed to maintain their impressive points tally throughout the entire season, along with being competitive in the Europa League. The 3rd place finish is a new a record for the club, who beat their previous record of a 7th place finish last season by an incredible 4 places. Many credit the finish to Southampton's ability to take points off their larger divisional rivals both at home and away. League champions, Chelsea were the only team able to beat the Saint's home and away in the Premier League this season. More impressive is the age of the Southampton squad, who are the youngest in the League (average age). Given their young age, some pundits believe a genuine title challenge could be on the cards in the next few seasons if Southampton are able to keep hold of their key players, such as Raheem Sterling, James Ward-Prowse, and Wilfried Zaha. Surely their manager, Gareth Southgate, must also be a priority for many big clubs through Europe given his transformation of the club.

Well done mate, knew you'd get that 3rd spot

CL comes to Southampton!

In a monumental day for the Premier League, an incredible four managers have been sacked in 24 hours following the final whistle on the final day of the season. The list of casualties include Louis van Gaal from Manchester United, Mauricio Pochettino from Tottenham, Roberto Martínez from Everton, and Stuart Pearce from Nottingham Forest. Surely the most surprizing is that of van Gaal’s sacking, given his secure 2nd place position which never seemed in danger during the final few months. With many expecting further managerial resignations and sackings on the horizon in the Premier League, the upheaval should see a collection of talented managers from the Championship given their chance in the top flight, while many expect big name managers from abroad to put their hands up to be in contention for the open seats, especially for the vacant seat at Old Trafford.

Hapened in my LFC save where LvG was sacked even though he was 2nd or 3rd :S

I like Southampton so I'm happy to see you doing a great job with them! Great story and I hope you keep it up!

great finish to the season, hopefully you can shock a few of the big boys in Europe next season

With such a poor showing in the last major tournament, the English public will be demanding a much improved performance in France

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Roy Hodgson has announced his England squad for the forthcoming European Football Championship to be held in France his June and July. The only surprize inclusion that will be scrutinised this summer is young midfielder Nathaniel Chalobah who got the call without having earned a senior international cap, with many expecting to see Will Hughes board the plane to Paris. Perhaps unsurprisingly given how impressively they performed this season, Southampton players are the the most represented club amongst the squad, with 8 (Jack Butland, Nathaniel Clyne, Steven Caulker, Luke Shaw, James Ward-Prowse, Wilfried Zaha, and Raheem Sterling) of their players making the squad. All of whom play a major role in making the England squad the youngest at the tournament. England also have the bragging rights of being the only squad at the tournament to have all players based in the country of their nationality.