Lawrie McMenemy has backed the appointment of Mark Hughes and believes the new Saints boss will get an instant reaction from the squad.
McMenemy, the club’s greatest ever manager, who led Saints to their own major piece of silverware, the 1976 FA Cup, thinks Hughes is a sound appointment from Les Reed.
He feels that the move is a return to the more traditional type of British manager who is well versed in the top flight and able to help guide Saints to Premier League survival.
Before Hughes sets his sights on that, he has the small matter of an FA Cup quarter-final at Wigan on Sunday to contend with.
McMenemy, writing in his exclusive column which appears in tomorrow’s Daily Echo, said: “I support the Mark Hughes signing 100 per cent.
“He has been there, done it, and has a lot to prove to his last club. Even though Stoke are a point behind Saints at present, in his four-and-a-half-year period he took them to the top half on three occasions.
“I would class him more in the old style managerial way as opposed to the foreign input we have had over the years here and at most other clubs now who are coaches only. Their job is to coach the first team and, in my opinion - and the proof was there last week - are not able in some cases to manage the players.”
Hughes has come in to replace Mauricio Pellegrino, who was sacked on Monday following a run of one win in 17 league games, which culminated in an embarrassing 3-0 defeat at Newcastle.
McMenemy believes that Hughes won’t have to search too far for inspiration when he delivers his pre-match team talk before the Wigan game, and that the Welshman will challenge the squad to prove themselves to the fans again.
“The team talk in the hour before kick-off is one that I’m sure Mark Hughes will seize on,” said McMenemy.
“With the door shut and just the players, him and staff in there, he can look at them all and ask some big questions.
“‘Are you all proud of what you did last week?
“‘Are you happy that the manager has been sacked?
“‘Did you enjoy reading the reports, listening to the comments, saying you all lacked effort and a desire to win?
“‘Are you happy to still wear the shirt?
“‘Are you aware that the people last week that booed you on the bus had hundreds of miles to travel and paid an enormous amount of money?
“‘You need to show them that you are sorry, and your way of apologising is to get out there today and not just win the game but give 110 per cent in your efforts.’”
Due to the FA Cup quarter-finals, there is a reduced Premier League calendar this weekend.
Four matches will be played on Saturday, with not a single top flight fixture on Sunday - and Liverpool are the only ‘big six’ side in league action.
Still, the table can change, especially towards the bottom where the relegation battle remains intense.
But, how can the table change this weekend? Click the right arrow, above, to see every club’s highest and lowest position after the Premier League fixtures to be played on Saturday…
MARK Hughes has been given the backing of Saints fans responding to a Daily Echo poll.
As reported by the Daily Echo, the club swiftly lined up the Welshman to replace Pellegrino, who was dismissed on Monday evening.
The question remains as to whether Hughes is the right man for the job, but Daily Echo readers have had their say - and they back the former Stoke boss.
| Saints forward set for return to action | Southampton manager Mark Hughes has claimed that Charlie Austin could be fit for the club’s next Premier League … 16-03-2018 |
TICKETS to one of the most eagerly anticipated musical performances in Southampton in recent history went on sale yesterday.
But fans wanting tickets to see legendary 60s rockers, The Rolling Stones, at St Mary’s Stadium will have to act fast.
Two sections of tickets have already sold out for the gig, which will take place in front of as many as 36,000 fans on May 29.
It comes after the band added a Southampton to their highly anticipated No Filter tour.
Stones Frontman, Mick Jagger, said: “It’s great that we’ll be playing even more UK venues where we’ve never played before.
“Look out Southampton, we’ll see you this summer.”
The date is one of two events, alongside Coventry’s Ricoh Arena, to be added to the tour.
The Europe-wide event began in 2017 and has already included trips to Germany, France and the Netherlands.
But last month, it was announced Charlie Watts, Ronnie Wood, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards would extend the tour in 2018 to include gigs at Twickenham, Old Trafford and Scotland’s Murrayfield.
The St Mary’s gig will take place 55 years after The Rolling Stones first visited Southampton.
The iconic rock group first wowed crowds in the city on September 29, 1963, when they played Southampton’s Gaumont, now better known as The Mayflower theatre.
The following year they had their first number one, It’s All Over Now, and returned to Southampton on October 4, 1964.
In 2007 the band brought the Isle of Wight Festival to a rip-roaring climax, in front of a crowd of 50,000.
Watch as Mark Hughes meets the media for the first time as Saints’ new First Team Manager ahead of Sunday’s Emirates FA Cup quarter-final trip to Wigan.