The unwanted Premier League record Southampton now have after Tottenham loss

Southampton's relegation from the Premier League has been sealed following their defeat by Tottenham Hotspur, making them the earliest team to be relegated with as many as seven matches still to play.

The Saints set a new unwanted record for early relegation previously held by Ipswich and Derby County who were relegated with six games remaining in 1994/95 and 2007/08 seasons respectively.

and while Lucas Bergvall's effort was disallowed for offside after a lengthy VAR check, it didn't alter Southampton's collapse to their 25th loss of the campaign. A late goal from Matheus Fernandes led to ironic cheers of 'We are staying up' from Southampton fans, but the descent was inevitable when Johnson was fouled in the box during injury time allowing Mathys Tel to score, despite Johnson being on the verge of a hat-trick.

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The Saints now aim to avoid breaking the record for the lowest points tally in a Premier League season, a dubious honour currently held by the 11-point finish of Derby in 2007/08, with Southampton just one point behind at present, reports .

Juric is fully aware of that, telling the media before Wednesday's home match against Crystal Palace: "I don't want it to be that we are the worst team in the history of Premier League."

Despite Saints' poor showing, they are only the joint-fourth earliest relegation in Premier League history. They share this dubious distinction with Derby who dropped on March 29, Huddersfield Town relegated on March 30 in the 2018/19 season, Fulham on April 2 of the same year, and Leicester City's 2001/02 squad who met their fate on April 6, matching Southampton's timeline.

The fellow newly-promoted sides last summer, Ipswich and Leicester City, are also facing a likely drop to the Championship after Wolves clinched victory at Portman Road on Saturday, widening the safety margin to an ominous 12 points.