Southampton manager Ronald Koeman has said that he expects Mauricio Pochettino to get a warm reception when he returns to St Mary's with Tottenham Hotspur this weekend.
The Argentine boss left the Saints last summer after steering them to a record Premier League points haul, with his exit sparking a mass exodus of many of the club's key players.
Koeman has picked up where Pochettino left off, however, and the Dutchman paid tribute to his predecessor for putting the foundations in place for Southampton's impressive campaign this term.
"Sometimes if you go as a Barcelona player to Madrid the reception is difficult, and sometimes in Holland. But, okay, I think the reception for Mauricio normally has to be good because he did a great job for Southampton. I like him as a person and as a coach and we have a good contact," Koeman told reporters.
"I think they make the beginning [of this] and developed the quality of the players, the young players. I think the structure and organisation in the team, the spirit of the players starts under Mauricio. I took that over and maybe we were different in some details.
"From what I heard, maybe I try to do more training sessions with the ball and maybe he was a little bit more physical. I think the start, for the development of the team, was under Mauricio and he did a great job last season. We continue [that] and so far we made it a little bit better than it was, but that is all about the experience and quality of the players."
Victory for Southampton on Saturday would not only see them leapfrog Spurs in the table but would also see them break last season's points tally.
Barney Corkhill
