Ronald Koeman has told the press about when he will be ready to discuss a new contract at St Mary's.

Several months ago Ronald Koeman stated that he would not discuss a new contract till the end of the season and he has once again confirmed that as his stock rises due to Saints amazing run of games as late.

Koeman's aim is to take the pressure off Saints as they go into an important run of three games in a week, a period that could see them propel themselves into the running for a Champions League place if they can get a good haul of points and other results go well for us.

However I'm sad to see that the Echo have used the headline "Ronald Koeman says he's not ready to discuss a new contract at Saints" it is sensationalist and of the sort you would expect from the Red Tops desperate to insinuate that Koeman is ready to leave and it is not accurate of the actual situation.

Koeman has long said that he prefers to concentrate on what is happening on the pitch during the season rather than contract talks, so this is about selling newspapers even if it ruffles a few feathers in the corridors of power in St Mary's.

I ave always been a big advocate of the Echo, indeed when they were banned at St Mary's I was a lone voice at some points talking of how a local paper is vital to a football club, normally although a local paper will not shirk at tackling a subject and so it shouldn't, it will report it with accuracy and lave the sensationalism to the Nationals.

When you read the Echo story it then concentrates on what Koeman actually said, however perhaps the headline "Koeman content with life at St Mary's" does not sell !

Speaking to the press Koeman said this about his future at Saints.

“This is the second year of my three year contract at Southampton,”

“I am a happy at the moment and we are doing well and I know what can happen in football.

“If everything is going well, you have to be prepared about a difficult time.

“If you’re in a difficult time, what we had during November and beginning of December, you need to support everybody because we like to change that bad run.

He added: “I’m still only on my second season. It’s too early to make conclusions or to talk about the future.

“Let me first finish this season and try and continue what we are doing until now.

“I don’t like to talk about my future because it is not the most important thing at the moment.”

That is exactly what the Dutch manager has been saying over the last few months, he needs to focus on what is happening on the pitch and not what is happening on it, he has more important priorities than contract discussions.

He is right this is when managers contracts should be discussed, but he is a very shrewd man, if he were to sign a new deal now he would probably get less than he would be able to negotiate in the summer should Saints have qualified for the Europa League again and if they should pull off a miracl and qualify for the Champions League then almost certainly he would be able to build bigger bonuses in, not to mention a bigger basic.

So it is right that Ronald Koeman should put his negotiations back to the summer, the reality for any manager is that a contract is no less likely to prevent them being poached by a big club whether it has a year to run or three, so from this perspective Saints fans should not see this statement as indicative of anything.

Photo: Action Images

SanMarco added 09:34 - Feb 26 The headline should actually be "Koeman HASN'T talked about his future at Saints". He will go at the end of his contract and seems set to be at least honest about it.
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SonicBoom added 10:17 - Feb 26 Hmm not sure about that. Yes he may leave or stay regardless of contract. But the longer he doesn't sign the more uncertainty there'll be. Look at Poch he was saying the same thing, stalling on his deal then he left. How is what Koeman doing any different? That is good for him yes, but not for the club. What if he says in the summer he's not signing. We all know what happens when the team know the manager is not going to be there. It also makes recruitment more difficult as players want to know who they are going to be playing for and that they are going to be wanted. Personally I think the club needs to sort this asap. If he's not staying beyond three years, does anyone think it's a good idea to let him manage for the final year of his contract ?

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schatfield added 10:47 - Feb 26 your headline reads 'koeman has talked about his future at saints' but he hasnt...is this article any better than the echo's then? Contracts are viewed somewhat differently in Europe compared to the UK, whereby we always think someone has to sign an extension otherwise they are not committing themselves to the cause, in Europe often a manager will work towards the completion date and then sign a new one thereafter if they feel the challenge still exits. So I dont think its a case of we have to sign him up asap, we just have to have that bit of trust in him (yes i know we got burned by Poch in this area)

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SonicBoom added 10:55 - Feb 26 Well he's not in Europe he's working in England. Why don't we have those discussions and build in the bonus's Nick refers to in his article, that will come in IF we qualify for anything this season. That being the case there is no reason to wait til the summer to see what he's achieved.
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A1079 added 11:00 - Feb 26 In many respects it is a non-story and there really isn't one. There is no issue with this season, he is obviously going to see it through and given his record he will probably see through next year, but Sonic is right the issue starts from this summer and particularly the further we progress into next season if it is not resolved. You potentially have what they call a lame President situation - someone in their final year, so nothing gets done or improves because everyone knows he is not staying. In many respects, if RK wants to stay beyond his 3 years it needs to be resolved this summer - it won't be, because the club are not good at this sort of thing, RK will want to keep his options open and to be honest, I cannot see him staying, so you will have the issue of some players not performing because they will leave when RK does and harder to attract new players.

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SaintNick added 11:03 - Feb 26 Schatfield actually Koeman has talked about his future if you want to be pedantic, "It’s too early to make conclusions or to talk about the future." He has talked about talking about the future which in affect is talking about the future ;-)
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RogerToye added 11:22 - Feb 26 Ah daily rags are all it, speculative as if they have an insight its all gossip and should be treated as such It is my opinion he will stay till we have achieved better and in a sound footing to win something. He is our best signing for a while and will look to continue building. However one person is not bigger than the club and managers come and go some remain long in the memory others a distant memory. The main thing is the saints win our hearts regardless of silverware and who is in the hot seat.

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SaintBrock added 12:07 - Feb 26 This one is down to Koeman himself - not the press - and what he wouldn't say at the Chelsea Press Conference yesterday. As I suggested on another thread his deliberate unwillingness to even mention next season and his repeated stone walling of questions about any movement on contract negotiations suggests he will be off in the summer, YES, THIS summer. I hope it is not as abrupt as Pochettino's departure but increasingly Koeman looks open to an approach from one of the traditional big four soon. He is no fool, two months ago his future here and in the PL was being questioned seriously. Now he is on the up and wise people do not wait for the peak to cash in their chips. His currency is about as high now as it will ever be and he knows that if our momentum slows he has left it too late.

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helpineedsomebody added 12:53 - Feb 26 please tell me where he will go when his contract is up . he will be offered a new contract. a new contract that no club in Europe can afford becouse of the new epl money next season 2.4billion pounds per season split between 20epl clubs that's a huge amount of money . this man is the best manager in 135 seasons so pay him 8 -10 million pounds per season the club has no excuses not to pay this type of money Then look after the saints fans 10 pounds per game for every one Saints there are no more excuses we can't have this becouse of no money .

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PezzaSaint added 16:16 - Feb 26 The reason why we need Ronald to make a decision sooner rather than later is because if he isn't staying then we need to get someone else tied down 1) to hopefully keep the players a little more settled and 2) to avoid a last minute rush to let players go and bring new players in. The club did extremely well in getting RK in when Poch said goodbye, but I bet Poch had made his decision a long time before and as such the club were already in Koeman discussions. I think credit needs to go to the club here, but just because you did a good job once doesn't mean you should rest on your laurels. Could next year's TV money enjoy RK to sign an extension and take us to the promised land? Here's hoping!!!

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PezzaSaint added 16:18 - Feb 26 Encourage
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IWOZTHERE added 08:57 - Feb 27 I think it's less to do with money and more to do with the board's intent.He has said he will see his contract out anyway, but.....At the end of the season he will have a 'plan' to take us forward. If the board are like-minded, no problem. But if we finish the season well, thinking we can take that step forward and the board won't back him, who knows? I think a few questions will be answered this Summer!

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