Ralph Hasenhuttl now has his new coaching team in place and ready for the first real full training session on Friday, here we take a look at who has joined the club and who are still here from last season.

It was odds on that the coaching set up would change once Sport Republic took over at St Mary's and out went Kelvin Davis, Craig Fleming and Dave Watson.

Staying at the club in situ where First Team Coach Richard Kitzbichler who was mainly in charge of the data side of things, Goalkeeping Coach Andrew Sparkes and Head of Sports Science Alek Gross.

As announced recently Ruben Selles joined a few weeks ago, but now two more names have been added to the coaching staff.

Alex Clapham joins the club from Notts County, having previously held coaching positions in Spain and Sweden, as well as with Sheffield United and Manchester City.

He spent last season with Notts County as first team coach and his progress through the ranks had been noted, the 33 year old will be tasked with leading the squad on set pieces.

Carl Martin, who has had playing experience in the Football League with Crewe & Macclesfield led Saints Under-18s to the Premier League South title last season, moves up to support the senior side, with particular focus on work in possession of the ball.

The former Watford youth coach, 35, spent the 2020/21 campaign shadowing manager Ralph Hasenhüttl and his staff to aid his development, with Saints’ youngsters reaping the benefits of that experience last season.

Pictured Left To Right: Alex Clapham, Andrew Sparkes, Rubén Sellés, Ralph Hasenhüttl, Carl Martin, Alek Gross, Richard Kitzbichler.

The new trio of coaches appear to have a lot more experience than the three they replaced and more to the point they all seem to have key roles in the coaching set up rather than being general coaches, there is a clear demarcation of their roles.

That means that Ralph Hasenhuttl now has a clear experienced head coach in Selles, as well as two hands on deputies, with good experience in coaching across the board.

Persoanlly I would like to see another coach added perhaps to be in charge of the defensive side of things, although Carl Martin who was a defender during his playing career could well fulfil that role.

Photo: Action Images

Monksway added 12:26 - Jul 1 If the strategy is to buy young and develop potential, I guess these signings are perhaps the most important of the window.
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