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Mauricio Pochettino marks his Premier League anniversary in a fitting manner this weekend as he takes Tottenham back to the club that brought him to England, Southampton.
The Argentine arrived on the south coast five years ago this week, a surprise name from Espanyol to replace Nigel Adkins the same day the fan-favourite manager was sacked.
After a Monday night 0-0 draw with Everton in his league bow, Pochettino revolutionised the way Southampton played over the course of 59 further games before leaving them on the cusp of European football for Tottenham.
The foundations laid by Pochettino saw that European dream realised under Ronald Koeman, whose final game before joining Everton saw Southampton qualify for the Europa League group stage with a 4-1 win over Crystal Palace.
Having left the club very much on the up, Pochettino returns to find his former employers in a sorry state.
After an eighth-placed Premier League finish and an EFL Cup final outing in the bag last season, few managers would expect to lose their job. However, the toxic atmosphere amongst the fans and, in some places, the squad towards Claude Puel sealed the Frenchman’s fate after just one season at St. Mary’s.
The assumption was that, under Mauricio Pellegrino, the football – deemed too boring during Puel’s reign – would return to a standard or style which mirrored that played under Pochettino.
That assumption is yet to materialise. After years of being held up as an example to all others outside of the Premier League’s top six, Southampton are now drifting listlessly into a relegation battle, with Saturday’s results seeing the Saints fall into the bottom three.
Following Pochettino’s departure in the summer of 2014, there was little expectation that the club would go on to hit the heights of recent years. As Pochettino turned Tottenham into Premier League title challengers and back-to-back Champions League qualifiers in three season, Southampton secured three more top-eight finishes. This current St. Mary’s malaise was far from anyone’s mind.
Pochettino’s fourth return to the south coast, with wins on his previous three, not only presents a daunting challenge but a reminder of what Southampton had, what they were and what they are now becoming.
New arrivals could certainly lift the mood this month. Though, the wait goes on. Since Pellegrino revealed he was expecting two this week, the club have missed out on former player Theo Walcott and seen precisely zero new announcements.
There remain links with Monaco’s Guido Carrillo, a striker who has already worked under the Saints boss, and fresh reports suggest a club-record move for Spartak Moscow’s Quincy Promes.
However, regardless of reports and rumour, another defeat to a former manager who has gone from strength to strength since that Monday night five years ago, could be the final straw for many Southampton fans.
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