Saints Chairman Ralph Krueger has moved to dismiss reports in some quarters that here are issues over contract talks with Ronald Koeman as well as confirming he is really pleased with the progress the club is making.

There are no shortage of hacks in the national media to try and stick the knives in the back of Southampton Football Club and try to stir things up, now Ralph Krueger has spoken to allay the Saints supporters fears that there could be a repeat of the stand off two years ago with Mauricio Pochettino.

Speaking to the Daily Echo Krueger said.

“We are in a completely different situation now to two summers ago,”

“We had the whole player, manager and all these things and the club behind the scenes — there were a lot of things to work on."

“We are now in a much stronger position as a club and we are very comfortable with Ronald at the moment."

“Our conversations are good, they are mature, and where we are there is one and a half years left."

“In the end everybody in both directions wants to be in the right place."

The regular conversations we have are good and the rest we leave amongst us where we are.

“There is certainly no unrest or uneasiness on either side at the moment.”

Krueger was asked whether in principal he wanted an extended stay for Koeman and added:

“I won’t go into that here.

“Right now we are really pleased with our present situation and where we are, but those are discussions for the football department and Ronald and Les."

“I am working on the big picture, but philosophically we have done some really good things here and the rest we will evolve as it needs to evolve.”

“Of course the last little while has been one where we aren’t pleased,”

“We are honest about that because we want to be in the top half of the table, we want to find a way back there and we will try to do everything to do that. It’s clear with the Charlie Austin deal."

“In the big picture we are really happy."

“We did a survey two years ago with our staff and again this year and it was 50 people more in and this year 50 people more again. We have got over 300 full time employees in Southampton Football Club and that’s not for any reason other than it’s necessary. Every single job that has been created was a necessity for us to continue to grow."

“In the big picture we are really excited and the values run through this club so deep that the three day induction programme we have is working because the new people that come in are every bit as committed as the people that were there from the start."

“The fans don’t care about that on a daily basis, the values of the club, they care about our results on the pitch and so they should."

“That is our single most important thing and above all we are about the results of the first team but beyond that what goes on gives it a solid ground on which to build itself."

“Whether it’s the academy or the first team it’s solid now."

“It’s strange that this pain came now at this time when as a club we have gone to another level, but pain is always opportunity."

“It depends on what you do with it, how you react in those times, how you communicate in those times, and we have so many good things going on right now that won’t necessarily show up in the next week or month or two months or even this season but have picked up a lot of things that will strengthen us for the long term."

“As far as our picture being online I am the kind of leader who knows that these are times of opportunity and I am not fearful of these times at all."

“My experience tells me if you have the right people in place then you will grow from this and we do have the right people in place."

“That is something I can say to the people of Southampton and the fans. The long term vision is on track and we are extremely responsible as a club, we are living within our means and I am proud of what we have right now.”

Photo: Action Images

BaselSaint added 11:46 - Jan 22 Some stability would be good. If good results come and he is happy with the deal I hope Ron will sign again. We want success but as always the more successful RK is, the more the very big clubs like Barca are likely to come knocking; that, as always is the bitter-sweet irony.
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IWOZTHERE added 14:20 - Jan 22 As with certain players, I think a lot depends on whether we finish the season well and looking as if we're making progress. If the club's ambition matches his then he'll probably stay and it will be an indication of whether we are ready to make another step up the ladder.
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