Southampton Season Preview: Say your prayers, Saints fans - this is going to be tough

Koeman has a hell of a job on his hands

Southampton will do very well to get anywhere near the heights they hit last season and should be backed for relegation, that's the view of Lewis Jones....

Last Season

Stunning. The Saints recorded their highest ever points tally in the Premier League and finished ninth, playing some attractive football in the process with a big emphasis on youth.

Ins and Outs

It's been all change over the summer as the heart of the club has been ripped out by Premier League big-hitters. Tottenham have nicked their highly impressive manager Mauricio Pochettino while Adam Lallana, Rickie Lambert and Dejan Lovren moved to Liverpool for a combined fee of around 55m, Luke Shaw to Manchester United for 28m and Callum Chambers to Arsenal for 16m. Oh, and Morgan Schneiderlin has handed in a transfer request as he wants to move to Spurs. And breathe.

The biggest loss arguably is Pochettino, who has promised to deliver "exciting, pressing, attacking football" at Tottenham and take them to the next level, something which looked very possible this season the way the south coast club were progressing. Pochettino inherited a workmanlike squad from Nigel Adkins in January 2013 but transformed them in just 18 months to become one of the most attractive teams in the country.

Ronald Koeman has the unenviable task of following in footsteps of Pochettino with a squad that has shipped out nearly all of their prized possessions.

His activity in the transfer market has been underwhelming thus far as trying to sell this new look Southampton to sought after players has proved a difficult task. They have signed FC Twente attacking midfielder Dusan Tadic for an undisclosed fee and he is likely to be played in a similar role to Lallana.

Graziano Pelle looks a carbon copy replacement for Rickie Lambert having joined from Feynoord for just under 10m but although he notched 50 goals in two seasons at the Dutch giants, transferring form from the Eredivisie to the Premier League is a tough ask. Just ask Afonso Alves and the forever scarred Middlesbrough fans.

More reinforcements are on the way, but time is running out and surely Koeman needs some proven Premier League experience within his ranks. As Tottenham showed last season, a team full of new recruits from around Europe take plenty of time and patience to hit full stride. And time is something that Premier League managers have in this day and age.

The Manager

Koeman arrives following a three-year spell at Feyenoord, who he led to consecutive top-three finishes in the Eredivisie. His 14-year managerial career has taken him to Ajax and PSV, where he won the Dutch title twice, and to Spain for a successful stint in charge of Valencia. The Dutchman likes to play attacking football and is very much in the same mold as Pochettino in terms of their willingness to take a keen interest in the youth development side.

Expectations

Erasing last year's success from their minds is the first thing everyone associated with the club has to do. After breaking down the wall, it's going to take time to build it again.

Koeman will need the full support of his board and the fans if he's going to get this right as no team at any level of football can cope with losing their four best players. A mid-table finish would be an incredible achievement.

Best Bet

You may have guessed from the tone of the article that I'm not overly positive on Southampton's chances of having a fruitful season.

Koeman's transfer business from the Dutch league, which has a terrible record of producing successful Premier League stars, will have hardly filled the Saints following with much confidence.

They have lost so much quality and steel from their starting eleven that current prices for relegation make plenty of appeal. The 6.411/2 available should be snapped up.

Value Bet

Sorry for the continued negativity but even the Rock Bottom market is interesting my punting senses when it comes to a Southampton-based bet. From a trading angle the 16.5n/a is certainly worth a small interest as it will shorten, if, as predicted, Koeman struggles to adapt to English football.