The sceptics were circling ahead of Ronald Koeman’s first year in charge of Southampton after former manager Mauricio Pochettino was followed through the exit door by a number of first-team regulars. The Dutchman proved them wrong, though, and after dipping into the transfer market to acquire the likes of Sadio Mane, Graziano Pelle, Dusan Tadic and Ryan Bertrand, he guided the Saints to a seventh-place finish – one spot higher than they’d managed under the Argentine in 2013/14.
In this members article, we cast an eye back over Koeman’s first campaign at St Mary’s, analysing the chief goal threats and creators and comparing their overall displays to Pochettino’s only full year at the helm.
