After just SIX defeats at Southampton since January, Pochettino has silenced the majority who doubted his appointment

After just SIX defeats at Southampton since January, Pochettino has silenced the majority who doubted his appointment

When Southampton sacked Nigel Adkins and replaced him with Mauricio Pochettino in January they appeared to be making one of the season's biggest mistakes.
A manager who had led them to two promotions in two seasons, appeared to be thoroughly respected by his players and had his side on course to survive their first season back in the Premier League in eight years was succeeded by one with no previous experience of the English game.
Pochettino had had some success with Espanyol in Spain but the reality is he had been sacked with his side bottom of La Liga less than two months before his appointment.

Talented manager: Mauricio Pochettino has so far done a superb job at Southampton

The fears were familiar. The move represented the departure of another promising English coach and the introduction of a foreign one whose philosophy was expected to inhibit the development of Southampton's many homegrown talents.
There was something to truly admire about Adkins' team and the important roles Luke Shaw, Adam Lallana, Jay Rodriguez, Nathaniel Clyne, Rickie Lambert, Jack Cork and James Ward-Prowse had in it, even if only Shaw and Rodriguez looked future internationals.
Pochettino may initially have done well to continue Adkins' work and to ensure relegation was avoided but Southampton's form beforehand meant that that by no means seemed spectacular.

Pressure? Many were unconvinced about Pochettino's arrival, after his sacking at Espanyol

England calls: Jay Rodriguez (left) and Adam Lallana have caught the eye of Roy Hodgson

The true test would always come after overseeing a pre-season and transfer window and seeing how Southampton would settle having had time to assimilate the Argentinian's ideas.
Dejan Lovren and Victor Wanyama were among those to arrive but beyond them and their successes it is Southampton's shape as a team and the improvement of their Englishmen that has highlighted Pochettino's nous. Just weeks shy of the first anniversary of his Espanyol sacking, the manager's reputation has never been greater.
Previously recognised as the Argentina defender who fouled Michael Owen to concede a penalty to England at the 2002 World Cup, he is now among the Premier League's most promising managers.

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For a team not among English football's biggest spenders in only their second consecutive top-flight season - and in a division in which they have traditionally struggled - to have lost only six times since Pochettino's arrival is exceptional.
That Rodriguez and Lallana have joined Lambert in Roy Hodgson's latest squad highlights how seriously they are being taken.
They are the only team to have beaten Liverpool at Anfield since the start of the season, challenged Manchester United in a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford, and are third, with 22 points from 11 games, while challenging for Champions League qualification.
Since Pochettino's appointment, Southampton have more stability, their intensity has increased and their weaknesses - those in central defence and their goalkeeper - have been addressed.
Lovren's arrival has provided the dominant defender they were lacking and Artur Boruc has thrived since consistently becoming the team's first choice.

Good judge? Nicola Cortese is Southampton's chairman

Big departures: Gareth Bale and Theo Walcott (right) are among those to have left Southampton but the club are now much better placed to hold onto their best players

Even Matt Le Tissier, a vocal critic of chairman Nicola Cortese's regime, is impressed.
'In terms of the strength of the squad this is far better than anything I can remember during my time,' he said.
In recent years, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Gareth Bale and Theo Walcott have been among those to leave Southampton with the club unable to offer Premier League football.
If Pochettino remains, for Ward-Prowse, Shaw and Lallana that won't be the case.

MAURICIO POCHETTINO'S PREMIER LEAGUE RECORD AT SOUTHAMPTON

In 27 Premier League fixtures since Mauricio Pochettino's appointment on January 18, Southampton have lost just six times, to Manchester United, Newcastle, QPR, West Brom, Tottenham and Norwich.
They remain undefeated since the last of those, to Norwich, on August 31.
Pochettino's sequence of results, beginning with his first match in charge in a 0-0 draw at home to Everton on January 21, is as follows: D, L, D, W, L, L, D, W, W, W, D, D, L, L, D, D, W, D, L, D, W, W, W, D, W, D, W.

 

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