Southampton news: Opinion – Johannes Spors ‘exudes a quiet confidence’

When Johannes Spors was finally appointed in February, the indications from the club were that there had been a long notice period to work through before announcing him. So I wonder whether Spors quite envisaged the freefall back to the Championship that he has now taken on.

When I asked him about why he had taken the job with Saints owners Sport Republic, he talked about the Premier League being an attraction. Well, he has got some work to do now to enjoy that attraction beyond May!

The 42-year-old German was engaging and his poise left me with a sense of trust – my first impressions are that he has faith in his own ability, built up from the successes he has enjoyed with Red Bull and 777 Sports. He also exuded a quiet confidence.

If I were owner Dragan Solak, I would give him clear leadership on recruitment because Spors did confirm that he is happy to take full responsibility for recruitment at the club.

There will be a sizeable number of Southampton fans though, who will be concerned that co-owner Rasmus Ankersen could still cut across Spors’ brief and make transfer decisions. I do not think Spors needs any help on that front – and I hope Dragan gives him autonomy to make decisions alongside himself and Ivan Juric.

Talking of managers, Spors’ business is knowing who is who in football and keeping across players and coaches. He was well aware of Ivan Juric’s successes in Italy and he stayed as neutral as you would expect about his future at the club.

And although he could have totally ignored my question about possibly linking back up with Danny Rohl in the summer, Spors was quick to talk about how he has been tracking Rohl’s progress since they went their separate ways after RB Leipzig.

I like that he did not deny any interest in Rohl or just point-blank refuse to say anything.

That poise and quiet confidence came out as he made sure we knew that he is in possession of all the information he needs to make the right decision.

Listen to the full interview on BBC Sounds

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