Southampton

Matt Le Tissier: 'Mauricio Pellegrino must entertain supporters'

By Daniel Lewis, Senior Reporter | 24 June 2017

Matt Le Tissier hopes to see the arrival of Mauricio Pellegrino reignite Southampton supporters following a "disenchanted" spell under ex-boss Claude Puel.

Southampton legend Matt Le Tissier has declared himself pleased with the club's appointment of Mauricio Pellegrino, but has warned the ex-Alaves boss that he must provide entertaining football.

The Saints parted company with Claude Puel last week on the back of a campaign that saw them finish a respectable eighth in the Premier League and reach the final of the League Cup, where they were narrowly beaten by Manchester United.

Puel's sacking was put down to a rumoured falling out with certain players behind the scenes, while supporters also grew increasingly frustrated with the bland style of play adopted.

Le Tissier is hopeful that the new man in charge will reignite the fanbase, with another top-eight finish the target for his first season at the St Mary's helm.

"Obviously, [former manager] Mauricio Pochettino has done very well for himself, he set up a team that was very energetic, entertaining to watch," he told Sky Sports News. "There weren't many dull moments. That's the kind of thing the Southampton board were looking for just to reignite the fanbase again because a lot of Southampton fans towards the end of last season became disenchanted with the style of play more than anything else.

"The eighth place was great but it was a lot of points less than last season. The cup final was great but I think ultimately the Southampton fans thought, 'yes we like winning, we like getting to cup finals but we also like to get entertained' and that was the main thing for me.

"I would imagine his remit would be the top-eight which is where we have finished for the last four seasons, it was great to get to a cup final which we narrowly missed out on. Probably the biggest thing would be to maybe add a little more creativity in the way we play.

"A little more of the high pressing that we became accustomed to over a few seasons with Pochettino and with Ronald Koeman. That's what the club are looking for - somebody who can take the club back to the way we were playing before last season."

Pellegrino guided Alaves to a top-half finish on their return to La Liga last season and also to the final of the Copa del Rey.