Arron Sanders takes a look at what is looking likely to be the set up surrounding Mauricio Pellegrino for the coming season.
Mauricio Pellegrino is due to announce his backroom team, before Saints head out to Austria for the first half of pre-season next week.
According to the Daily Echo Eric Black will be staying on at St Mary's as a first-team coach, while Pellegrino has also selected two of his own personnel in Xavier Tamerit & Carlos Compagnucci to join him at the club.
Black was appointed as assistant manager to Claude Puel last term, but after the Frenchman's sacking he was replaced by Pellegrino, his future was very much up in the air.
Black is set to remain in the dugout next term, said due to being popular among the players, the club also feel he can offer support to Pellegrino as he settles in to his first management job in the Premier League, as he did for Puel.
Black's familiarity with the current squad and experience of English football is viewed as highly valuable by the board.
Dave Watson remains in his role as head of goalkeeping.
Watson has been a permanent fixture of Saints' backroom for the last 3 seasons, He is a club appointment to the role and no matter who manages the team he would remain on the clubs coaching staff.
An announcement on Pellegrino's backroom team will come before the end of the week, with details and paperwork being finalised, and then Saints will head off to Austria as pre-season really gets under way.
They will play one pre season friendly alongside a week long intensive training camp.
The club then returns to play a friendly at Brentford on July 22, before heading to France two days later.
An announcement on the pre-season friendly matches for their trips to the continent is expected imminently.
The majority of the team returned on Monday for early fitness testing, while those who have been at the Confederations cup or U21's European Championships on international duty have been granted extended leave to recuperate.
Any other Internationals return on Friday ahead of the Austria trip.
What do you make of the decision to keep Eric Black at the club? Is his in depth knowledge of English football the right grounds to keep him on or was he part of the problem last season and not the solution ?