Southampton boss Ivan Juric pointed the finger at the club's recruitment after they became the fastest team to be relegated in Premier League history.
The Saints are heading back to the Championship at the first time of asking after a 3-1 defeat at Tottenham confirmed their fate with a record seven matches still to play.
Southampton have just 10 points — one shy of Derby's all-time low — and Croatian manager Juric, who has won just one of his 14 League games in charge, blamed an imbalanced squad.
'Recruitment is everything in football,' said Juric.