French newspaper L’Equipe have had the chance of conducting a long interview with Southampton boss Claude Puel.
The French manager discussed several things, including his role at the club. Puel insists he doesn’t have a say in everything unlike Arsene Wenger at Arsenal.
He said: “No, they didn’t roll out the red carpet for me to change everything. I am in charge of the first team.”
Puel added Wenger is the ‘last of the Mohicians’, and that the likes of Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp are no longer involved in the meetings of youth teams.
He said: “But Arsene is the last of the Mohicans. He arrived at a time when the coach oversaw everything. That no longer exists: Klopp and Guardiola are not involved in the meetings on youth teams. They take care of the first team, they ask for this or that player and will not discuss the transfer, they manage teams.
“Here, there is a shareholder (the owner Katharina Liebherr), a large family in the area. A president (Ralph Krüger), who I meet up with after matches. A general manager (Gareth Rogers), to whom I answer to, and a recruiting manager (Ross Wilson).”
However, Puel shouldn’t be too disappointed with that, as Southampton are surely one of the better run clubs in the Premier League.
Several key players and managers have left St Mary’s in recent years, but they have managed to replace them well, and Puel will be hoping they continue to do so during his tenure.
It appears Puel is quite keen on making things very clear right from the beginning, following a decent start to his career at Southampton.
Southampton are currently eight in the Premier League table, with 13 points from 9 games.
