Ugochukwu has now made four consecutive Premier League appearances, which is the most he has ever made for Saints or the Blues in a row, something that never looked possible under former manager Russell Martin who was cautious in starting him.
However, Juric has shown a lot of faith in the 20-year-old, who spoke in the weekend match programme on how happy he is to work under Juric.
"First of all, I'm very happy to be back in the squad," said Ugochukwu. "It's been a long time. With the manager, I think he's bringing something new to the team so now it's all about belief in ourselves. It's always good to have someone that believes in you.
"That's what I get from the new gaffer. That's why I want to fight for the gaffer, for the club, for everyone - my teammates, for myself, for the fans as well. I'm trying to be the type of player that people can rely on. I think I can bring a lot to the team, with my height, my long legs and my aggressiveness.
"With the style of play we're playing now, that's what I'm trying to use to put the team as high as possible. I would say it's a different style, it's more direct.
"I think it's also good because in the position we're in, it's all about fighting to get up there and about belief in ourselves as well.
"He has just arrived so he's trying to make me improve in what he wants me to do, so every time we have training or a game he shows us what he wants."
Looking ahead to 2025, Ugochukwu outlined his ambitions and how he wants to shock many pundits by helping the Saints out of the relegation zone.
"When you have challenges like this, you try to see where it went wrong, so I started asking myself where I can get better to get back into the squad. Probably train harder, just do my best to give something to the squad, and I think that's what I’m trying to give now."
“We, as a team, we still believe (in beating relegation). I think the fans as well, they want to be like, 'Southampton did it'; so that's our mentality. We want to prove to people that, okay, it wasn't a great start, but we'll surprise you guys. That's what we want to do."