Southampton director Rasmus Ankersen has explained hiring Nathan Jones as new manager.

Jones replaced Ralph Hasenhuttl after the Austrian's sacking earlier this month.

Ankersen told the Athletic: “I appreciate Nathan is not that big a name. There is a good old saying that no one has been fired for buying IBM — the easy decision is not Nathan Jones.

“It's not about getting someone that people will think 'wow what a name'. We needed to do what was best for the club. This is an appointment for substance, not for PR.

“He's done a great job in his first few days, winning people over because it was always clear to us that there would be initial scepticism."

Ankersen, CEO of Sport Republic, working alongside Henrik Kraft and Dragan Solak, added: “We need someone who can get a lot out of the resources they have because we're not going to give someone a massive budget.

“We have someone that can make the players better. That's our whole model. And what he has done at Luton and the work he's put in and the environment he has created to develop players in many ways is very impressive."