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Mauricio Pellegrino has officially started work as Saints boss – and has much to consider.
The Argentinian has been tasked with the job of moving Saints beyond what was achieved by Claude Puel – an eighth placed finish and the EFL Cup final, but with an underwhelming style of play.
Saints believe they have the right man for the job, but Pellegrino will not be underestimating the task at hand.
He has met many of his players as they returned for pre-season testing, but will start to get a real feel for things as the squad come back to prepare for the new campaign in the coming days.
Here at The Pink we take a look at some of the things Pellegrino will be trying to figure out to hit the ground running.
It’s the item that is top of the agenda for fans during transfer windows, and it won’t be any different for Pellegrino.
He will be quickly trying to draw conclusions and devising plans as to what he would like to try and do in the transfer market.
Pellegrino will likely to try and look at the squad department by department, and of course there are a few which seem to require more work than others.
Saints are not going to splash out ludicrous sums of money on new players, and Pellegrino will have been made aware of that during the appointment process, but he will need some new faces.
The centre half situation clearly needs addressing, he might well want to try and add another central midfielder, while there is still a question mark over whether there is enough pace in the side.
Of course, all of this will be set in the context of potential player sales as well.
It seems as if most of the Saints squad have been linked with moves away from the club already this summer, and while the majority will clearly remain, things could hot up soon.
June is traditionally a very quiet month in the world of domestic football as players, agents, managers and chief executives take a break.
When they report back in July there is generally a ramping up of affairs, which builds as the season nears.
If big bids are to come in for the likes of Virgil van Dijk and Ryan Bertrand then you can expect them to probably arrive over the next few weeks.
There may also be a few players Saints are happy to move on, and it will be for Pellegrino to run the rule over them and agree he is content to try and wheel and deal to get the balance as he would like it.
It didn’t take somebody with much insider knowledge to see that the spirits of the squad were clearly sagging towards the end of last season.
There were numerous factors that contributed, but Pellegrino needs to breathe some new life in the players and really inspire them.
There are a few who were looking towards the exit door, and if Saints hope to keep them, and as productive members of the squad, then it will be up to Pellegrino to sell them a vision they can buy into.
The back end of last season all fell so flat, but the new manager has to put impetus back into the dressing room.
Saints have a lot of good players, but are not so amazing they can rely on talent alone. They will need spirit and character and determination, and the inspiration Pellegrino can provide will be vital for that.
Pellegrino has to really try and break the mould that was created by Claude Puel.
The thing that ultimately turned off a lot of the fans was the style of play under Puel.
Saints did put in some decent performances, and played some nice stuff. Sadly for Puel much of that happened away from home and, therefore, beyond the gaze of many Saints fans.
At St Mary’s, especially towards the end of the season, some of the football was extremely dull and uninspiring, and the chronic lack of goals only underlined that.
Despite that, it was still successful up to a point, as it would be unrealistic to expect what Puel had to work with to finish above eighth.
Pellegrino needs to find a way of playing that provides far more entertainment, but cannot compromise results.
Saints fans complaining about dull football but finishing eighth are unlikely to be much more impressed with a thrill a minute relegation scrap.
Pellegrino has managed with the 4-2-3-1 formation in the past and is expected to use that as the base to build from heading into next season, with no doubt some other variations worked upon to throw into the mix.
In terms of style, Pellegrino’s team at Alaves last season were not really too dissimilar to Puel’s Saints, and they also struggled to score goals but achieved a good midtable finish and got to a cup final.
However, Pellegrino will surely have been made aware that things need to be different, and most fans will be hoping for some high tempo, high pressing, attacking football, especially without the need to conserve energy for European football.
A major problem for Puel was really getting his message across.
At first it seemed as if it was a bit of a language barrier, but as time went on it became clear that Puel was just a quiet and reserved character. That was just him.
But with his team reflecting his personality, and also the manager struggling to really explain himself or excite the fans, it proved very difficult for people to get behind him.
Pellegrino needs to address that problem.
It’s not to say he has to try and change himself, or be flamboyant or wildly controversial, but the way he presents himself in front of the media will be important. It is the prism through which the club communicates most of the time.
Certainly most will be hoping he will be more interesting, and also more open, as to add to Puel’s problems he didn’t give much away, which also gave little room for excitement to be generated.
Pellegrino arrives at St Mary’s with a reputation of speaking good English and being an affable character, and he will need that in order to succeed.
Football is all about momentum, and it’s important for the squad and the club as a whole to be pushing for a common goal.
It needs to be clearly defined and more than just focussing on winning the next game.
It didn’t always feel Saints had that last season, and they really do need it under Pellegrino.
People will get behind it and try and play their part if they can see they are working towards an ambitious objective.
Saints would like to get European football back to St Mary’s again, so gunning for sixth-seventh would be an obvious potential target.
It won’t be easy, of course, but at least it might work to inspire and unite players, staff and fans behind a common purpose, rather than continuing the recent sense of drift.
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