Southampton news: Opinion – ‘New era will get worse before it gets better’

With relegation comes the inevitable player raid.

The Premier League quality players in our squad are all expected to be playing top-tier football once again. We cannot and should not stand in the way.

Kyle Walker-Peters has seen out his contract and confirmed his departure. Aaron Ramsdale, Mateus Fernandes and Tyler Dibling will also garner heaps of interest – the latter reportedly for a big fee.

It is time for a full rebuild.

The new era under incoming manager Will Still may be a painful transition. It will get worse before it gets better.

There is lots of news on players moving on, but it has been quiet on the news regarding incomings.

With young German centre-half Joshua Quarshie already a done deal, I would like to see more business done early. We need to have the squad depth capable of dealing with Championship life.

After the season we have just endured, the fans deserve one of competitiveness. To be a match for every fixture and not outclassed.

I would hope to be in the play-off picture and give time for the new era and signings to settle. A glut of loanees are also returning, hoping to make their way into contention.

Can we keep Ross Stewart fit? Can Adam Armstrong return and find 20-plus goals again? Can we learn from our previous mistakes of poor recruitment?

Would it be the worst thing to stay in the Championship for a while?

Find more from Ray Hunt at the In that Number podcast