Simon Rusk, the former England under-19s manager is the new under-21s boss set to redesign and overhaul Southampton’s youth system.
This follows previous under-21s manager Adam Asghar's decision to leave the club with Rusk set to be an improvement as he attracts praise from manager Russell Martin.
The 42-year-old has a strong reputation of developing players having previously worked with talents such as Ben White and Solly March at Brighton.
After his first preseason victory win over AFC Totton, Martin had a lot to say:
“We have some really talented young players. In Simon Rusk, we have one of the top developers in the country.
“He did a brilliant job at Brighton for a long time in a similar role. It’s a really good group of players.
“All we ever ask from the players, be that first team, 21s or 18s, is to be brave all the time and run as hard as they can.
“Whether it’s a pre-season game or a cup final, you need the same mentality and the same approach.
“The rest will take care of itself. A lot of the guys have trained with us this past week. The other half have trained against us as the opposition.”