Midfielder James Ward-Prowse has been speaking about life under new manager Claude Puel, and also the differences between his style and former manager Ronald Koeman.
With a mixed but improving start to life under Puel in 2016/17, 21 year old Ward-Prowse himself has had a good start with eight appearances so far, and a pass success rate of 88.5% apparently.
Speaking to saintsfc, JWP explained that the training sessions were very enjoyable under the new gaffer.
‘He is very detailed and very passionate. He want us to do well and on the touchline he is very demanding. He has put in place the philosophy that he believes in. I think it is a lot more possession based. We look to have more of the ball and the way we press is slightly different so it`s a case of working on that in training and putting that into practice in the matches. He is always stopping training and giving you advice. With the possession element too as a midfielder it does mean you will probably see more of the ball, which is good. He joins in during training and has scored a few goals which is always good to see. Often it ends up with the team he isn`t on, winning the games in training!’
With Puel more than buying into the Southampton way and producing Academy graduates to step into the first team, Ward-Prowse also praised the gaffer on that front with youngsters still coming through like Jake Hesketh and Olufela Olomola.
‘Claude made it clear on the first day that he was here, that the pathway is there for young players and they just have to come on and impress when they can. To see that the club is continuing to do that is great. It`s an ethos that the club has had and something that we need to continue. It has brought a lot of success on the pitch and it`s great to have other academy products out on the pitch with me.’
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