Claudio Ranieri’s time at Fulham could be nearing its end after this latest loss left his side with little hope of escaping relegation from the Premier League.
Ranieri looked a beaten man on the sidelines as he stood with arms folded throughout and the mood among away supporters was toxic at St Mary’s Stadium.
Fans called on club bosses to act and unfurled a banner mocking the words of owner Shahid Khan, who in November said Ranieri’s appointment was ‘risk-free'.
In hindsight, nothing could be further from the truth. Fulham have still not won away this season, and victory for Ralph Hasenhuttl’s Southampton here moved them out of the bottom three.
Hasenhuttl has given his side a fighting chance of survival and they took full advantage of Fulham’s trademark dire defending to clinch the win.
Oriol Romeu and James Ward-Prowse got the goals that saw them climb above Cardiff to 17th. Fulham, meanwhile, are 10 points adrift of safety and their March fixture list will not lift spirits.
The Cottagers must face Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City, as well as Leicester, who may be benefitting from the new-manager bounce. Whether Ranieri will be in charge for that return to the King Power Stadium in nine days’ time remains to be seen.
Fulham resembled sitting ducks in the opening stages as Southampton asked all the questions.
Charlie Austin scored inside quarter of an hour but the goal was ruled out by referee Anthony Taylor for a foul on goalkeeper Sergio Rico in the build-up.
Southampton took a legitimate lead in the 23rd minute, however. Ryan Bertrand’s corner led to a poor punched clearance by Rico and the ball fell invitingly to Romeu, who hit a 22-yard shot.
All 11 Fulham players were inside the box but no one was on the edge to block the shot. It escaped every man and nestled in the back of the net for 1-0.
It was 2-0 before half time as Bertrand forced Rico into the save. The goalkeeper palmed the ball into the path of Ward-Prowse, who tapped in the rebound.
Remarkably, Ranieri went into this winless in his last 22 Premier League away matches – 15 for Leicester, seven for Fulham. That run had not looked like coming to a halt here.
While they showed their anger towards Ranieri and vice-chairman Tony Khan, Fulham fans have not lost their senses of humour, at least.
At 2-0 down, they sang: ‘If you’re going down, stand up.’ They then added: ‘On our way, we’re on our way, to the Championship, we’re on our way.’
The visitors also chanted towards Southampton’s supporters several times during this game: ‘You’re going down with the Fulham.’
Saints boss Hasenhuttl disagrees with that statement. Indeed this win will give the Saints belief as they head into the final 10 fixtures of the season.
For Fulham, they have now lost eight of their last nine games and have the worst defensive record in Europe. It is hard to see where they go from here.