If this is to be Ruben Selles’ first ever senior managerial role, then it may be the footballing equivalent of passing your driving test and immediately being thrown into the Monaco Grand Prix.
Southampton – bottom of the Premier League table and having sacked their second manager of the season – are reportedly considering handing 39-year-old Selles the keys to the machine, the Spaniard potentially going from assistant coach to head honcho at St Mary’s (The Telegraph).
On one hand, this is a brutal reminder of the position Southampton find themselves in. As relegation rivals Leeds United are discovering, convincing a highly-rated tactician to sign on the dotted line at a club starting down the barrel of the Championship with just three months of the season remaining is easier said than done.
Talks with Jesse Marsch, one week after his sacking at Elland Road, broke down this week. Marcelo Gallardo doesn’t want the job. TalkSPORT, meanwhile, say that Chris Wilder will not be taking over on the banks of the Solent either.
Ruben Selles in at Southampton?
Necessity may be a factor behind Selles’ potential appointment. But he does not deserve to be characterised as the ‘best of a bad lot’. Selles might never have taken sole charge of a team – and certainly not one in Southampton’s dire predicament – but he is ‘highly regarded’ behind the scenes and popular amongst the players (The Athletic). Some believe that, despite his lack of experience, the time is coming for Selles to ‘go solo’, and transition from a role of a background artist to that of a leading man.
Selles, who prefers a high-pressing style with quick counters, is seen as an innovative coach in the mould of a Ralph Hasenhuttl or a young Mauricio Pochettino. His fierce attention to detail, meanwhile, should only benefit a Saints side who, for much of Nathan Jones’ ill-fated tenure, appeared to be scrambling around in the dark, uncertain of their roles and instructions.
“He was absolutely crazy about analysis,” Jakob Ankersen, who played under Selles in Denmark at Aarhus, tells The Athletic. “He would talk to players individually and make clips, showing examples of what he wanted from them. If you were confused, he would explain and break down a game.
“All this basic **** that people hate to do. But it’s really important. He just did it, and didn’t care if these boring drills took 40 minutes or more. It had a really good effect. The tactical changes he installed were the reasons why the two years together were successful. It ended with us finishing in our best position in the 21st century.”
Attention to detail
Wherever Selles goes, success tends to follow. Aarhus qualified for the Europa League shortly after his arrival. He helped Copenhagen win their first Danish title in three years. Selles has a further two winners’ medals from his time in Azerbaijan with Qarabag.
“He got people to understand it was not about individual pressing. You need to do this together, otherwise it doesn’t work,” Ankersen adds. “These were basic things but in the heat of the moment, you sometimes forget them. He kept drilling us, and his methods made sense so quickly.
“He’s a top coach. I really think he can show that in the Premier League, which is the holy grail for coaches.”
These long-suffering Southampton supporters, then, can probably expect a return to the style of football that underpinned the Hasenhuttl era; an aggressive, organised, quick-countering outfit. Selles, The Athletic say, has made it clear that he wants to see more ‘effort’ from the Saints squad; prioritising the need to fight for every available point in the heat of a relegation battle.
Inspired by Hasenhuttl
Qarabag, Copenhagen and Aarhus were set up in a variation of a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 during Selles’ time behind the scenes, suggesting that a three-man backline often utilised by Jones may be shelved.
Selles took interim charge of Southampton following Hasenhuttl’s departure in November. He fielded a 4-2-3-1, high-pressing system during an EFL Cup victory over Sheffield Wednesday. Ibrahima Diallo and James Ward-Prowse started that day. Their energy and intensity could give the duo the nod over the more cultured Romeo Lavia in midfield, while the pace and directness of Kamaldeen Sulemana and Samuel Edozie could prove very useful on the wings. A more orthodox ‘number ten’ role should also get the best out of Joe Aribo or the talented Carlos ‘Charly’ Alcaraz; providing a link between midfield and attack.
And, in Paul Onuachu, Southampton now have a genuinely prolific centre-forward at their disposal. The towering Nigerian scored 17 goals during the first half of the season at Genk. If Southampton are to survive, expect Onuachu to play a major role.
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