Will Still has talked about his time at Southampton when discussing the tough start to this season with AJ Auxerre.
Southampton appointed the 33-year-old as their manager in May 2025, following their relegation from the Premier League.
He had a difficult start at St. Mary’s, losing the first three matches. The manager waited until the sixth match to register his first win.
The Championship side endured a difficult run under his orders, winning only four of 16 matches. This includes two wins in the EFL Cup. The Saints scored 18 and conceded 21 goals in those matches.
After two wins in 13 league matches, Southampton parted ways with Still in November. At that time, they were 21st on the table. The English club promoted Tonda Eckert as first team manager and finished fourth last season.
Still struggling after Southampton exit
Will Still had several opportunities since leaving Southampton. However, he waited until the summer to join AJ Auxerre.
He endured a difficult start with the Ligue 1 side, losing all three league matches. They are bottom of the table and have scored four and conceded 11. His side are the only club still to pick up a point in France’s top flight this season.
Auxerre’s poor run has seen the manager remove himself from social media.
In his pre-match press conference for Saturday’s clash against OGC Nice, he talked about that and L’Yonne Republicaine have relayed his comments.
“It was simply a way for me to protect myself, but also to protect my family and friends. Because we mustn’t forget that when you insult someone, you insult their family and the people around them,” he said.
“Because, you know, you’re in this profession, you know it’s part of the deal. But when your friends and family send you things like that, it’s not fair. I don’t want to know about it, it doesn’t interest me. You have to know when to block it out. That’s simply the decision I’m making.”
Still talked about Southampton struggles
The AJ Auxerre cocah is well aware the French media are critical about him. He explains it when talking about the need to handle criticism from the fans and also the media.
“You have to deal with these criticisms, which are ultimately quite gratuitous. Everyone has an opinion, everyone has the right to their opinion,” Will Still explained.
“It’s simply a way for me to focus entirely on the team, on my players, on my staff, and on what we want to achieve.”
“I know France, I know French journalists, I know all the TV talk shows, all the radio pundits who are discussing it. And it makes me smile, honestly.”
“I’ll give you a concrete example: who will be the first coach to get fired? People can do what they want, they can write what they want, and we can debate it for hours and hours.”
“That’s life, and that’s the world we live in. It’s part of the deal. I’m not complaining, I’m taking note, and we’re moving forward.”
In order to explain to the media that he’s strong, the manager says the criticism from the British media is “much tougher”. To make his point, he talks about his time at Southampton.
“In Belgium at the beginning, then at Reims where everything took off and really took off, it was fantastic,” he added.
“It’s true that it’s been three months, not even, at Southampton and then a little over a month here where things are a bit tougher. But it’s my high standards for myself that make me want to do better than this because I know I can and I must do better.”
