SPORT Republic chairman Dragan Solak has appealed to supporters for “a bit of faith” and promised to be “100 per cent dedicated” to not making the same mistakes again.

Saints owners Sport Republic are looking to pick the club up after its first relegation from the Premier League since winning promotion from the Championship in 2012.

Saints finished bottom in the investment firm’s first full season as stewards of the club, following their acquisition of a majority shareholding in January 2022.

As they enter a busy summer of senior leadership appointments and expected player turnover, Solak understands only results can rebuild bridges with their supporters.

READ MORE: Southampton owners Sport Republic on Premier League relegation

In an interview with the Daily Echo, alongside Rasmus Ankersen and Henrik Kraft, the Serbian businessman said: “It’s fair to say that all three of us have history that brought us to the point of being able to own a Premier League club, which is not a cheap or easy thing to do.

Daily Echo: Dragan Solak during the Premier League match between Southampton and Mancester United at St Mary's Stadium. Photo by Stuart Martin..

“That means we have made a lot of decisions right in the past. Rasmus has a lot of sporting success and Henrik and I have lots of business success. This part of our journey was not marked by success but we are fighting, we learn from our mistakes and have tried to work out exactly where we made them in order to never do them again.

“I think supporters should have faith that we have not just woken up a year and a half ago and become completely incapable people from a life of success before that!”

Solak added: “We were very happy with Southampton on multiple levels and still are but through the first half-season some vulnerable things showed and some results started piling up. We were not able, together with the team, to answer why.

“It’s a very touchy business where we have to be very precise but believe me we have done a lot of thinking about everything that went right and wrong, and are 100 per cent dedicated.

“I’m not saying we are not going to make mistakes again but we are 100 per cent dedicated to not making the same mistakes. We can only ask now for a bit of faith and hopefully, the results can rebuild faith in us – that’s the only way to prove you are right or wrong in football, win or lose.”