Saint-Armstrong

Les Reed exclusive interview - part two: "We all went to that game (Liverpool away), very nervous. We thought we'd done all the right things, but until they cross that white line you never know. We wanted a confident performance and we got that. We were disappointed we hadn't got the points, considering they were the team that had raided us. But I walked out of Anfield very happy. That was the springboard for the season." "That was a very satisfying day, because it all came together (8-0 vs Sunderland). We actually had a shaky start to the game and Sunderland would've felt in with a chance, and we just kicked into gear. The performance at West Ham showed when we want to keep possession, we can, under huge pressure." "Sunderland just showed us that when we get all that right, with players at their peak, we are very difficult to handle. We were very clinical that day - it'd be nice to get that back!" "It was a sign that on our day we are a very good technical team, and a ruthless dream." "I think it ties in with what I've said previously, many times. This club has a genuine aspiration to play in the Champions League." "We're not going to do it by buying a Champions League squad with £40m transactions for single players. We're going to build it, with a blend of youth and experience. That takes time. But it can happen, if you put yourself to take an opportunity when it comes. What we have to do is position ourselves, so when one of the big four falls away and leaves the door open, we are in the best position to go through it." "If we can compete in Europe now, and gain confidence and experience, there's no reason why in the future we can't (progress to Champions League)." "There was a dream, a little inkling, that if things just went right for us - the door might open now. We're probably not ready for it." "What it does show, though, is that at some point in the future we will be ready - and it's not wrong to aspire to that." "I think we've given some of the big teams a good run for their money. We may not have always got the points - Chelsea, Arsenal, United. I tend to be the guy that looks at overall performance, and trends - whether the team is peaking or troughing at certain times. We've made a strong comeback." "For me, the highlight of the season has been that we have consistently been in European positions - and we spent a long time in the top four. It shows we can mix it with the big boys." "I think that all the players we have signed have done very, very well. We signed a number of players who hadn't played in England, and in the first part of the season in particular, they all stepped up. That usually takes a bit of time. They're used to a winter break, so it's been a long season for some of them - but it bodes well for next season. Graziano, Sadio, Dušan are all learning what it takes to play in this league. Toby's been a great loan signing." "I think that they (Reed and JWP) have done very well. I think in his first season as captain, José Fonte has really stepped up to the mark. Getting called up by Portugal was a great reward. Fraser was fantastic, up until his injury he would've been a strong contender. Then, Mr. Consistent - Steven Davis. And there's Shane Long - he works his socks off every week. May not score, but works his socks off and you'd want him in your team." "If anyone was leading the poll, in my view, it'd be Morgan. He's really stepped up to the mark." "We're a better team this year, than since we came up from League One." "But if anyone's been our stand-out player - it's Morgan." "I measure our performance, as a club, by everything that goes on - not simply what the first team to do on the pitch. We've spent a long time building players in the U21s and U18s. There's a lot of talk about whether English players are good enough and strong enough, we played the game that night (the U21 PL cup win) with 15 out of 18 as English boys. All outfielders from our club. To top it off with a bit of silverware, that recognises that development, was, with ten men for a lot of the game, to actually win that game is something that will stay with them forever." "Hopefully, one day, a lot of those players will be in that position with an FA Cup, or a League Cup, or a European Cup. You can't buy that experience." "I think that surprised the broadcasters (the attendance at St. Mary's for the U21 final). It certainly surprised our opponents. We always said if we had the second leg at St. Mary's, the fans would come. In terms of promoting it, there wasn't a lot of time. So, for the fans to turn out like that just shows their faith in the club and the academy." "It's coming on really well now (Staplewood). Finishing touches. One new really big pitch coming in. The landscaping is making it a really great environment, too. Everyone comments on it. Players in the summer, when they see this place, will be convinced that we are a club going somewhere." "I think it's been a very positive team in a number of players. We're celebrating football tonight, but the club has done a lot of things off-the-field. There's always room to improve. We will step forward. We will always have that aspiration to step forward, compete with the big boys and upset the apple cart." "Maybe people don't like that happening, but we don't care."

Academy Manager, Matt Hale, now speaking on the feed. Not transcribing this one!

Martin Hunter and Sam Gallagher now on stage. Martin has a sling and cast on his right arm. Says to dispel some rumours: No, he didn't get in a fight with Victor - and no, it's not the hand he used following last night's 4-0 loss. He used his left hand to hit them.

Terry Paine talking now about the season. Says he has voted for Pellè vs QPR as goal of the season.

Part One of exclusive interview with Les Reed: *as close to verbatim as possible* "All in all it's been an outstanding year really. It's a bit old hat now, to keep referring back to the summer - but in terms of where we were and where we are now, we've had a great season." "We got on with the job and we've had a very good finish to the season and have a good position in the league. We're still progressing and that's a good sign for the future." "No, I would've expected that." (improvement, progression and Europa League) "We put our plan into operation, in terms of when things go wrong, how do we react? We didn't make a fuss and simply moved forwards in terms of the recruitment of the coach, player sales and player recruitment." "Would I have predicted us to finish where we are now? No I wouldn't. But does it surprise me? Not at all." "We had the right things in place to deal with the issues that came up." "It was a massive test, because we'd developed something we believed in, and you hope never to test it out - but we had to. I think we came through with flying colours." "At the time it was stressful and a lot of hard work, with a lot of people doing a lot of hours. I feel very confident going forward, that if things crop up, we can deal with them." "We've strengthened from going through that period. A lot of things have happened behind the scenes at the club. A lot of new ideas." "We can set high targets and achieve big ambitions." "It's one of those - 'Ronald Koeman' - not a person who is under the radar. His playing career and coaching career was out there for everyone to see. I was quite surprised that while he was on our radar, he wasn't on other clubs' radars, while other Dutch coaches like De Boer and Van Gaal were. It meant we could not draw attention to it." "Ronald was someone we would monitor. We're always interested in clubs similar to ours - Ajax and Feyenoord in terms of academy and structure aren't that different. Having met him, he was exactly what we were looking for and was a good fit. It all happened quite smoothly. It wasn't the changeover of coach that was traumatic as it may have seemed. We did our home work and we got our number one choice straight away. He liked what he heard, and we liked what we heard. We had to get that over the line before Ronald and I could discuss what we were going to do in the transfer window and make plans." "He's a very calm and controlled person. There are managers who are laid back. He is in no way laid back, he's very hands-on, but he has a very calm and controlled manner. His appointment seemed to indicate that we knew what we were doing and calmed everyone down. I think, generally, the fans and the media were very impressed that we had appointed Ronald Koeman." "While we had a lot of loyal players, the employment of the coach gave them a great deal of confidence as well - which is why I think we hit the ground running." "I think Ryan Bertrand gave out some interesting messages. This is a player with a Champions League winners' medal, who had been brought up at a very successful club, but hadn't been able to travel down that pathway and become a regular. Young, English and an international player, and I think Ryan committing himself to it at that time sent out a good message. He's a very highly-rated player who felt Southampton was the right place to develop his career - and so it has shown. You'd almost think he was brought up here from the age of eight." "Bearing in mind we thought we'd get our business over the line quickly, but then Sadio Mané not being able to get out of Germany until the deadline - that was quite scary. We had one medical team in England and one on stand-by in Germany. We had an agreement with Bayern Munich's doctor to do a medical, and use their facilities. We got final confirmation with about two minutes to go." "We went for loan players (in January) to cover injuries and add to the squad. It's always a bid of a 'Wild West' market, and we didn't want to get drawn into that."

Adam Leitch of the Daily Echo - interview: "We've had a lot of long trips sandwiched together, but it's been a good season to cover them. This is my 13th season for the Echo covering Saints, and this has been a cracking season." "I would say this is my favourite season so far. The first season I did this was the FA Cup Final - but for all-round enjoyment, this has been great. The atmosphere is the best it's been. I love all the staff here, Ronald is brilliant and they're all great to deal with - players and staff." "We've all got our own little words, but everybody is invested in the success of this football club. Way more people buy our paper and read our website when Saints are doing well. There's a recognition, a feeling from the top, that everyone has their part in that." "It is so much easier when they're co-operative. You get good stuff out of them, and you treat them with respect. It works both ways." "A lot of the things that are really memorable are not even matches. Press conferences - things like Ronald's famous 'Chips without mayonnaise is not chips!'" "It makes it a better place. There's a nice buzz around St. Mary's. Players are happy, fans are happy and the manager is happy. Writing a report on a victory is much easier than having to write about some shambolic performance from someone you've then got to go and speak to!"

Saints looking back at some of the highlights of the season, on and off the pitch. Now looking back on #GoodLuckTim - that really amused me at the time. Saints are good at this media stuff.

Ralph Krueger speaking to Steve Bennett on YouTube: "The spirit here is so strong and I appreciate all the Saints followers at home tuning in here! It's been a special season. It's nice to take a deep breath, step out of the season and think about what we are doing here, now. It's very important to take time to celebrate - we didn't really have a lot of that this season." "We put a lot of pressure on ourselves to build on last season and be even better." "It's really all about 'The Southampton Way'. It's not something we invented - but we reinvented it. Everybody is living 'The Southampton Way' and we are proud of the way we operate. We are very respectful with all people we work with: our fans, the media..." "It's a family, and we're a club that wants to grow and do something special - but while having a good time." "What's happening on the pitch is a by-product of all the honest hard-work that is happening." "I just put myself as being a head coach in a different position. It's a bigger picture that I find myself in. I still find that I have the coach's eye when I walk around the club, to find ways people can find their potential and develop here at Southampton." "Katharina's support has been outstanding. It's been easy for me to step in and be chairman with the people I have to work with here." "We want to do things differently. The captains and Ronald chose snow over sun. I don't think many other clubs do that. I used my contacts to build the package in Davos for the squad. Everything we're doing is a unique Southampton connection. Our brand is growing and people around the world know that we are on the map."

Ronald asked what is his secret: "The players." "I don't think there really is a secret. It's the organisation and the structure of Southampton Football Club. From the beginning, you feel like you're in a family." "It's a lot of fun. We know football is very important, but life and family is important. Les Reed mentioned already the spirit and ambition of the players. It's amazing." "It was good to talk to Kelvin and José about the changes in the club, they were maybe a little bit afraid, like everyone else. But I think Les, and I, did a great job to give them the information and give them the feeling to not be in a panic. That was important in pre-season." "Maybe last weekend (highlight of the season). You like to give to the fans a good feeling for the end of the season. I think that was the best moment of the season, after two weeks where we lost. That reaction, at home, playing good football and scoring great goals - taking a great step forward to playing in Europe next season." "We already have a Dutch comedian, so no singing and shouting from me." "You need to relax. I like to play golf, handicap eleven. I like to stay with my family. My wife travels between Southampton and Amsterdam and my kids work in Holland. We will stay together after next weekend. I think I am lucky. I spoke to Janmaat, I said 'you like the Premier League?' - he said 'Yeah, but the ****ing weather!', I say, not down here." "I believe in the players and the qualities of the players. We are close to reaching something special. Still one game to play, and it's an experience for everybody. The first season in the Premier League for myself with Erwin, Jan, Dave and Sammy. We can reach that level."

Ronald taking to the stage...

Toby says he voted for Victor Wanyama as player of the season.

Now live! [video=youtube;iIclaz-MTX0]

[video=youtube;iIclaz-MTX0] Coverage starts at 19:45. Awards start at 21:45. The night is hosted by Ed Chamberlin and will feature five awards, which will be awarded in the following order. Players' Player of the Season - José Fonte Young Player of the Season - Matt Targett President's Choice Award - Victor Wanyama Goal of the Season - Shane Long Fans' Player of the Season - José Fonte The 'Goal of the Season' award will be voted on tonight by those in attendance AND those who are watching online. I'll post up the relevant links and update this post, as and when the live broadcast begins.

That's it, he's done!

Adkins talking about management styles. Talking about communication, both verbal and non-verbal and also in terms of watching the game. Said he'd prefer to watch from an elevated view in the main stand, as it's easier to assess and oversee your team's performance - but you have to balance that with the value of having a manager pitch side. Said that at Saints, he would always sit next to Kelvin and ask him 'what did you see from that half?' and 'what have you identified from that first half?'. Believes goalkeepers have potential to be great leaders and managers/coaches, as they have a wider view of the game and are quite good at assessing football. Said he actually tried to sign Courtois at Saints. Looking to get back into frontline management as soon as possible, but happy to keep studying - was at Southampton at the weekend, Leicester Tigers rugby the days prior and MLS the week or so before that. Will go wherever, to assess various different sports, to make himself the best he can be. Was asked who he thought best PL keeper was - said Courtois. Tried to sign him at Saints!

Adkins talking youth development at national level. Said he thinks we don't place enough importance on it. Thinks we have a challenging culture in this country when we think about 'burnout' and clubs and countries working against each other, rather than working together. Thinks England should put out their strongest team and just try to win these tournaments, we should take them more seriously. Said that at Reading, one of his players - Stephen Kelly - hardly ever had a break due to his Republic of Ireland commitments. We need to change the psychology and attitudes surrounding the squads - once you've had an England senior call-up and then go back to the U21s, it's a case of 'oh, I've been demoted' and there isn't the same level of enthusiasm and commitment again.

Adkins now talking about Luke Shaw's decision to leave Saints for United. Said we need to be respectful of Luke. Said he spent a lot of time 'looking after' Luke, and how he was affected by agent issues and had his head turned. Had a lot of people looking at him, even at youth level. Said he played him in cup games alongside JWP. Saints did a lot of 'caring' for young players. Said there was a special support network just for Luke, led by Matt Radcliffe - who is now physio at United. Luke couldn't physically manage a full ninety minutes in Jason Dodd's team, so had to have 30 minutes here and there as they worked with him. Luke is now at one of the biggest clubs in the world. His financial situation has changed. The people he's surrounded himself with have changed. It could be too much too soon. If you're gonna be a top, top, top player you make your debut by 17 - but then it's about how you develop from there. Matt will have a big responsibility for Luke at Manchester United.

Adkins talking about life pre-Southampton, and when Southampton came calling. Said he felt ready for Southampton when the club came calling. Adkins said to give yourself a good opportunity, you need to prepare yourself properly. Said when he got offered the job at S****horpe, the first question he was asked by local radio was 'how can a physio become the manager?'. He said he answered about his career path, about Bangor City and leading them into the UEFA Cup and then gave examples of the boot room philosophies of other clubs - said it instantly shut down that question and people accepted it. Said the supporters at Saints were 'magnificent'. Said he went back at the weekend and they were magnificent again. He said it was a very, very driven and a very, very ambitious environment. Was invited to meet Cortese, had a good conversation and after a period of time - became the manager. Great players, Kelvin Davis and Dean Hammond were two brilliant senior professionals. Rickie Lambert was a talisman, but there were several young players. Wanted to have a senior group, surround them with young and hungry players - Lallana, Chamberlain, Schneiderlin, Cork, Shaw. Said the ambition of Adkins and Cortese was always to have three players for every positions - one senior, one younger, one academy. That was the pecking order. Said that JWP began training with Adkins at 15, also brought Shaw, Chambers and Stephens into the fold and put them in the first team dressing room to see how they handled the experience. It's a very good example of how to get youngsters into your first team. Said you have to win games of football at the same time as blooding youngsters. Said he blooded nine youngsters at Reading, but had financial issues and other off-field issues and ultimately, they were not winning games while waiting for a new owner to arrive. Really good youth system, but had a heavy defeat at Birmingham. Said that if he had not suffered that heavy defeat at Birmingham, he would not have been sacked. Said that the goalposts moved for Steve Clarke. Seven months is now the latest average figure for a Championship manager. Said it doesn't give him time to 'wait' for a young player to be 'ready' to perform at the top of their game.

Now discussing the play-offs. Compared cup finals and play-off finals. Said that play-off finals can be strange, as they're one-off games. Said he loved the way Derby were playing earlier this season, thought they were superb and played great football. Described them as outstanding. Said he went and watched them again late this season and couldn't believe the performance he was seeing. Said sometimes it's hard to understand how these things happen to a team with such high quality. Adkins said when he first left Southampton he spent time with Hamburg, and had access all areas. Said he went back to Saints a few weeks ago and did the same, said Saints have a system with 6 or 7 managers lined up to replace the current manager, depending on different outcomes. Said he thinks that's the way it has to be, and he doesn't think there's anything wrong with it - he accepts it.

Talking about developing himself. Used to go on every type of 'course' going. Went to the physio courses, psychology courses, sport science courses, football coaching courses, business management courses, analyst courses - every type of course. He said that helped him as he could tell everyone he fully understood their scenarios, and had been in their position and seen things from the same perspective, and found that it helped him to pull together different departments with less difficulty. Said all the different departments naturally snipe at each other, but at Saints he had a really great set-up and things worked really well.

Adkins talking about the transition from Scunny to Saints. Talked about developing time management. At Scunny he could be involved in everything and know absolutely everyone at the club. Said at Saints that just wasn't possible, it's a massive club and a far bigger operation. But still, everyone likes a 'good morning' from the manager so he provided that. He said you have to be able to delegate and make sure that you keep tabs on things, but accept that you can't have overall, complete control of absolutely everything across a club as big as Southampton.

Adkins now talking about life as a physio. Said he ended up doing a degree in sports psychology because of conversations in the treatment room. Said he would check some players over and find no actual 'injury', so he'd press players on why they'd bothered coming to see him. Said it was relatively common to hear that they'd split from their partner, they're bored, losing access to the kids, developing a drinking habit, spending too much money at the casino, getting caned by the fans and so on. Thinks people just look at players as being 100% if they cross the white line to the pitch, and don't consider that someone is having a tough home life, struggling with other issues or are generally at a low point in their life or career for whatever reasons. Adkins said society and football are mentally weaker these days, and not firm enough with people. Said he doesn't think people who misbehave are actually punished as they used to be, and they should be. Said there seems to be some sort of strange culture of pandering to those who step out of line, rather than getting them back into line ASAP. Said that even in school, bad kids used to get punished and take a hit, and now that doesn't happen and he doesn't necessarily agree with that.

Just been talking about joining Twitter. Detested it at Saints and didn't get why the players spent so much time on it. Encountered similar trends elsewhere, so signed up expecting to just get absolutely battered and hit with abuse, then probably leave. Can understand why more now, said there's loads of great things going on, but you have to use it in the right way. Said he's both enjoyed it and hated it. Said he had a sit-down meeting with a certain young player who said to Nigel he was using social media for six hours plus, per day. Adkins told him what else he could do with that time that would actually benefit his career. Said too many players use their social media to show off their lads holidays, parties and nights out and it doesn't create an impressive professional image.

Now talking about Luke Shaw. Mentioned agents using players as a cash cow. Said he monitored and managed how much time Luke got with the senior team and in the team, and eventually Luke saw sense and changed agents. 'There were situations going on'