Having watched Glenn Hoddle swap Sainthood for his own personal heaven, Southampton were left to contemplate the afterlife last night. It was not an encouraging sight. The first match since Hoddle decamped, significantly perhaps, saw defeat and the end of a run of five successive league wins. Uncertain and unconvincing, Southampton succumbed to a commanding Ipswich who efficiently reclaimed third place thanks to a hat-trick from Marcus Stewart, who is now the Premiership's top scorer.
The official end of the Hoddle era came earlier in the day when Southampton and Spurs tied up the loose ends of the deal. The London club paid a reputed £800,000 compensation to Southampton for the loss of their manager and £200,000 for the loss of his number two John Gorman.
The managerial baton at The Dell has, for now, been passed to the first team coach Stuart Gray, in charge until the end of the season. Various names have been mentioned to replace Hoddle in the long run - from Kevin Keegan, George Graham, Gianluca Vialli, to Mickey Adams. But Gray, a former Aston Villa player, is regarded highly enough to be given a chance. However, despite stating that he would adhere to the Hoddle model, Gray's debut team endured a jittery first half here last night and went behind after 22 minutes.
Ipswich, packing midfield and leaving Stewart up front alone, may have looked defensive but their approach paid early dividends. After a scrappy opening in which the home side created several opportunities without really testing Richard Wright, Ipswich, shrugging off the loss of the suspended Jim Magilton, took control.
Just past the half-hour Jamie Clapham sent Matt Holland away down the left. The midfielder's flashing cross eventually reached Stewart on the far post and he swept the ball into an empty net.
Inevitably Southampton came out for the second half with a lot more purpose but Ipswich were not prepared to sit back on their lead. Martijn Reuser clipped the top of the bar with an audacious free-kick from near halfway, then forced Jones into a flying save with a rasping shot.
Ipswich then managed a second. Hermann Hreidarsson was allowed space on the left of the area, put in a cross and Stewart was somehow allowed to head past Paul Jones.
That was on 23 minutes. Two minutes later Ipswich sewed up the game. Holland, denied a penalty seconds earlier, was brought down. The referee pointed to the spot and Stewart converted with a delicate chip.
SOUTHAMPTON: Jones; El Khalej, Lundekvam, Richards, Bridge; Tessem, Oakley, Marsden (Le Tissier, 76min); Petrescu, Pahars (Rosler, 76); Beattie.
IPSWICH TOWN: R Wright; Makin, McGreal, Bramble, Hreidarsson; Scowcroft, J Wright, Holland, Clapham, Reuser; Stewart.
Referee: A Wiley.
