Please note, Twitter polls are hardly an exact science—we realise this. The Pellegrino Approval Rating is merely a bit of fun in canvassing fan opinion on the current manager in direct response to how quickly Saints supporters turned on Puel last season. All results by each gameweek are chronicled at the bottom of the article.

It’s fair to say Claude Puel wasn’t the most popular of figures to have graced the touchline at St. Mary’s as Southampton coach with swathes of Saints fans baying for the Frenchman’s blood at the end of the 2016/17 Premier League campaign.

Mauricio Pellegrino is the man tasked with replacing Puel following a successful season with Spanish side Alaves. It’s early days, but we took to Twitter to poll Saints fans to see what they’re think of the man now trusted to take Southampton forward.

Gameweek 6

Southampton played Manchester United in gameweek 6 following a 1-0 win away at Crystal Palace the week previous.

The Pellegrino Approval Rating following the Palace win was 42%, while 4% were “unhappy” and 54% were still undecided.

United proved a sterner test for Saints. Despite a spirited performance from Pellegrino’s men, Southampton fell to a 1-0 home defeat to Jose Mourinho’s Red Devils.

Saints may have lost, but the positive performance led to Pellegrino receiving an even better approval rating—this time 58%, with 4% remaining unhappy and 38% undecided.

Gameweek 6 saw the Pellegrino Approval Rating increase by 16% on the week previous.

Gameweek 7

Then we came to gameweek 7. Morale was fairly high despite defeat to United the week previous, but the PAR has shifted dramatically the following week after a 2-1 loss away at Stoke City.

The Pellegrino Approval Rating fell 44% on the week previous, while those “unhappy” with the Argentine coach rose 26%. There was also a 16% increase in St. Mary’s Musings followers polled who were “undecided” on the Saints manager.

14% is the lowest Pellegrino Approval Rating all season.

Claude Puel

For the sake of context, St. Mary’s Musings put up a poll asking what they thought about Puel’s reign as coach with the benefit of hindsight. Interestingly, 35% of those polled were still undecided about Puel after a whole season—proving how difficult it can be for a manager to make his mark on a team within a year. Though, 58% polled said they were not in favour of Puel and only 7% said they approved of the Frenchman being Southampton manager—numbers which appear to be accurate, given the hostility directed at Puel from the stands at St. Mary’s last season.

So, overall, it would appear most Saints fans are now reserving judgement on Pellegrino’s appointment. We’ll track his approval rating each gameweek to see how he gets on coaching Southampton.

The Pellegrino Approval Rating per gameweek:

Mauricio Pellegrino Approval Rating for Gameweek 1: 64%

Mauricio Pellegrino Approval Rating for Gameweek 2: 71%

Mauricio Pellegrino Approval Rating for Gameweek 3: 33%

Mauricio Pellegrino Approval Rating for Gameweek 4: 15%

Mauricio Pellegrino Approval Rating for Gameweek 5: 42%

Mauricio Pellegrino Approval Rating for Gameweek 6: 58%

Mauricio Pellegrino Approval Rating for Gameweek 7: 14%