Southampton have ruthlessly axed 12 players including former Premier League winner Adam Lallana as they prepare for life in the Championship.

The Saints were relegated after a miserable campaign which saw them pick up a mere two wins and end the season on 12 points, just one point above Derby's record low tally. 

Their fate was sealed with seven games to spare in April and they will return to second tier action in August.

The South Coast side appointed Will Still as their new manager last month, with the Englishman signing a three-year deal, and they are targeting an immediate return to the Premier League.

And they have brutally cut a host of players, including ex-England international Lallana.

The 37-year-old, who represented England 34 times and won the Premier League and Champions League with Liverpool, joined Southampton as a 12-year-old in 2000, spending 14 years there during his first spell.

He rejoined his boyhood last year and featured in 14 Premier League games last season.

Despite his contract expiring he has been linked with a coaching role under new boss Still, with the midfielder acting as assistant boss under interim manager Simon Rusk. 

Kyle Walker-Peters and Joe Lumley are also set to leave St Mary's when their contracts run out at the end of the month.

Youngsters Derrick Abu, Josh Lett, Josh McNamara and Lewis Payne have been released.

As have scholar James Martin, Tevin Myers, Alfie Prescott, Ben Sheaf and Harry Upstell have also been moved on.

Southampton are hoping to bounce straight back up from the Championship next season in Still's first season in charge.

Still, who became the youngest coach in Europe's top five leagues when he joined Ligue 1 side Reims in October 2022, has gained rave reviews for the work he has done during his early managerial career at Lierse and Beerschot in Belgium and latterly at Reims and Lens in France. 

After signing for the club, he said: 'There is huge potential here and we have a great opportunity to do something special.

'The project that has been laid out to me is very impressive and, all together, I believe we can build a clear identity and a very positive future for the team.

'I'm eager to get to work this summer and start building a close-knit group that can make everyone proud and ultimately get us back to where we belong; in the Premier League.'