Who will replace Pochettino at Southampton?

Southampton are now looking for a replacement for boss Mauricio Pochettino who has joined Tottenham

Yesterday I wrote that Southampton boss Mauricio Pochettino was set to move to Tottenham and the Argentinian has now signed a five-year year deal at White Hart Lane.

The big question is who will replace the 42-year-old on the South Coast?

Open

The race for the Southampton job seems to be open at the moment, which is strange considering that Pochettino has been linked with a move to Tottenham for a long time now. The Argentinian will be difficult to replace.

Pochettino instilled an effective style and also seems to have created a great atmosphere in the dressing room, despite the fact he had to rely on his translator at times to purvey his ideas to the players. The interesting factor in Saints getting a new boss is if they appoint somebody with the same football philosophy as Pochettino.

Similar

Two bosses linked with the Saints job that are similar to Pochettino in football philosophy’s are Michael Laudrup and Swiss boss Murat Yakin. Their styles may not be identical to that of the Argentinian, but they both like to play passing football.

Laudrup was an instant hit in the Premier League in his first season at Swansea. However, his second season did not go so well and he left the club with rumours of dressing room unrest, which is not exactly inspiring for a club looking to hire a new boss.

Yakin is an interesting one. The 39-year-old has just left Swiss champions Basel, after winning two Swiss titles since joining in 2012. However, it has been Basel’s performances in the Europa League that has raised Yakin’s profile.

Ironically, Tottenham were believed to have held talks with Yakin when they sacked Andre Villas-Boas in December. However, instead Spurs handed Tim Sherwood the job, only to sack him after six months.

Yakin had been an outsider for the job, but it looks like he could now be one the favourite to be the next Southampton boss. Yakin cannot speak English, which has been a criticism of Pochettino, but that did not stop the Argentinian becoming a success at St Marys.

Yakin is a highly-rated coach and even if he does not have any experience of English football he could be another clever appointment from the Saints board.

Experienced

A number of experienced bosses have also been linked with the job. Derby County boss Steve McClaren seems to have repaired his reputation with the Rams after a very poor spell in charge of Nottingham Forest.

The former-England boss guided the Rams to third place in the Championship and the play-off final. However, Derby lost the final 1-0 to ten men QPR through a last-gasp Bobby Zamora goal. McClaren has done a good job with the Rams on a small budget and used a lot of young players, which may appeal to a club like Southampton with such a good youth set-up.

Former-Cardiff boss Malky Mackay has also emerged as a candidate for the job at St Marys. The Scot helped the Bluebirds to promotion to the Premier League, before having a fall-out with Cardiff’s controversial owner Vincent Tan.

The other boss who also seems in contention for the role is former-United and Everton boss David Moyes. However, the Scot is currently considered the favourite to become the next boss of SPL champions Celtic.

Moyes style of play would be completely different to that of Pochettino though and looks like an uncomfortable fit for Southampton, despite his decent record at Everton.

Exodus

The Southampton players all bought into Pochettino’s football philosophy and as a result have become better players. Pochettino leaving the south coast may well lead to a mass player exodus from Southampton.

It has been well-documented that the likes of Adam Lallana, Luke Shaw, Dejan Lovren and Morgan Schneiderlin are all attracting attention from elsewhere. It is vital for the Saints that they keep their talented young squad of players together this summer.

Challenge

It will be a major challenge for the next Southampton boss to continue the progress that Mauricio Pochettino has helped the team achieve in the last few seasons. To continue that progression then the Saints board have to make the right managerial appointment.

The Southampton job will be an attractive proposition for a lot of bosses. The team has some good players and finished relatively high up in the Premier League table. If Southampton can keep hold of their key assets this summer and choose the right boss then there is no reason why they cannot maintain that progress without Pochettino. However, at the moment that is a very big if.

Who will be the next Southampton boss?