SOUTHAMPTON GETS NEW MANAGER

Southampton have appointed Ronald Koeman
as their new manager.

The former Netherlands international has agreed
a three-year deal to replace Mauricio Pochettino
who took over at Tottenham last month.

Koeman, 51, resigned from his job at Feyenoord
in May after guiding the club to second place in
the Eredivisie.

"Southampton have a talented first-team squad,
a world-class academy and the infrastructure to
sustain success in the Premier League," he said.

Ronald Koeman will be
joined at Southampton by
his brother Erwin and Jan
Kluitenberg.

"From my very first meeting with executive
director Les Reed, I could see clearly that this
was the right club for me. We share the same
philosophy of football and the same belief in
how to develop the club.

"The opportunity to continue the development of
this famous football club was simply too good to
turn down. I cannot wait to get started."

His brother, Erwin, has been appointed as
assistant after he left his coaching role at Dutch
club RKC Waalwijk.

The pair will be joined by Jan Kluitenberg, who
takes up the role of assistant first team coach/
physical coach. Kluitenberg worked with Koeman
at Vitesse Arnhem, Benfica, AZ Alkmaar and
Feyenoord.

The trio will be assisted by Southampton's
existing first-team support staff, while the club
will be recruiting a high-level goalkeeping coach
in the near future.

Koeman already has a list of players he would
like to bring to St Mary's, with BBC Radio Solent
reporting Feyenoord midfielder Lex Immers, 28,
as his top transfer target.

However, keeping players at the club will be one
of his immediate challenges, with England pair
Luke Shaw and Adam Lallana the subject of
interest elsewhere.

The search for Southampton's new manager was
led by Reed, who hailed the arrival of the
Dutchman.

"We are extremely pleased to have secured a
new manager of Ronald Koeman's calibre and
status within the game," said Reed.

"From the moment we met with Ronald, it was
clear he had the vision and ambition to take our
club forward, that he shared our football
philosophy and could see the opportunity to
move our club to the next level.

"The club, the players and the fans will all be
excited to have a man of Ronald's experience at
the very highest level joining our club."

SOURCE - BBCSport