Claude Puel returns to Southampton for the first time since his summer sacking on Wednesday.
Claude Puel has admitted to BBC Sport that it “will be a strange feeling” returning to Southampton when he takes his Leicester City side to St Mary’s Stadium on Wednesday.
The Frenchman lasted just one season as Saints manager – leading them to an eighth-place Premier League finish and an EFL Cup final only to be sacked in the 2017 summer.
Staying true to his tranquil demeanour, Puel does not feel that he has a point to prove to the Southampton hierarchy and instead is looking forward to some amicable reunions.
“It will be a strange feeling, of course, to go back to St Mary’s Stadium,” BBC Sport quotes him as saying. “It will be nice to see some familiar faces, but the most important thing, like it is for the players, is to keep a good focus.”
Puel added in a press conference covered by The Telegraph: “I hope the fans remember our good times, like the journey in the cup and the final. It was great at Wembley, they are good memories.”
The 56-year-old was given a second shot at Premier League management in October when he was the somewhat surprising choice to replace Craig Shakespeare at the King Power Stadium.
He has lifted the Foxes to eighth in the table – three places and five points above Southampton – thanks to a run of three successive wins, two of which came against top-seven opposition.
The only manager with anything to prove is Puel’s replacement at Southampton – Mauricio Pellegrino – under whom the Saints have arguably regressed in the early months of the season.
Defeat tonight and they may regret letting Puel leave so suddenly even more.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
