'Fascinates me': Jamie Carragher already has one criticism of Ivan Juric after Fulham 0-0 Southampton

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Ivan Juric watched Southampton draw 0-0 against Fulham from the stands after accepting the offer to replace Russell Martin.

The Croatian has signed an 18-month contract at the St Mary’s Stadium after Martin was handed his P45, following last Sunday’s dismal 5-0 defeat against Tottenham.

Watching from the stands at Craven Cottage, the man from Split will have been pleased to see his Southampton side earn a point against a strong Fulham team – who sit ninth in the Premier League after losing just four out of 17 games so far.

However – speaking on Sky Sports – Jamie Carragher already has one criticism of Ivan Juric.

Jamie Carragher baffled by Ivan Juric watching from the stands

The man from Bootle was critical of Juric after seeing that he had decided to watch Sunday’s clash in west London from the stands, rather than dive straight into his job from the touchline.

Carragher said: “It’s the one thing that always fascinates me when new managers are appointed and they don’t get involved straight away. I just think, if it was my team – I understand he hasn’t trained with them – but I’d be speaking to them before the game, tell them what I’m looking for, give them a message at half-time. What are you waiting for? I’d be straight in there.”

For all we know, Juric potentially did speak to his Southampton players before the 0-0 draw at Fulham, so the Sky Sports pundit’s complaints are pretty unfounded.

Ultimately, Carragher himself has never delved into coaching, so he can’t really comment on how the 49-year-old prefers to go about his work.

Ivan Juric style of play

Southampton used a 3-4-1-2 formation at Craven Cottage, and fans should expect to see more of it.

Juric has used this shape throughout the entirety of his managerial career to date – barring a few tweaks to the system in some matches – with Total Football Analysis mentioning that he is capable of adopting both an intense pressing system if the triggers are there, meaning certain opponents who are weak in possession, but can also coach a compact block.

The Croatian is also known to rotate his starting XI frequently, which may be a way of ensuring everybody remains energetic enough to carry out the intense pressing he aims to deploy in most matches.

To put it simply, Juric’s style has been called “death metal football” in the past, to reinforce how intense it can be.

Southampton, who want Kevin Danso back, have a lot of work to do as they sit eight points off safety, but after an encouraging point against Fulham, a foundation has been laid for Juric to work with.