Southampton Appoint New Boss In Wake of Hasenhuttl Sacking

(The Guardian) On a weekend where Nathan Jones had expected to welcome Rotherham to Kenilworth Road, the former Luton boss will now be heading to Anfield as manager of Southampton.

Talking about his first few days at St Mary’s, the 49-year-old Welshman said: “We have to make small steps and we have to make them quickly. All I’ve done is address them and ask them for a few key things. I can’t do ground-breaking work in a day because of the game on Wednesday (Southampton beat Sheffield Wednesday in the Carabao Cup on penalties) and the amount of people who played.

“Yesterday was a recovery day and I only get today to work with them. It won’t be some sort of categorical shift in how we play, but I hope it will be an uplift in energy and that they work for the club and for me. Anfield is one of the toughest places in Europe to go, but what a great start. You can be scared or excited by it. You can be motivated by it, and I’m definitely one of those.”

Jones says he has had a “whirlwind week” travelling up and down the country and opened up on his family connections with Southampton at his first media conference. His wife’s great-grandfather played for Southampton and all her family are supporters of the club. Jones laughed: “So there’s zero pressure. My wife’s dad has already been giving me tips, so he’s been blocked. I can’t have that! But, seriously, it’s a wonderful connection for that family.”