26 Apr 2013 16:10:40
Southampton Manager Mauricio Pottechino believes his side could make the Champions' League next season.
I didn't realise he'd taken a week off to go to Amsterdam and smoke the strongest $hit he could find.
Thanks for the strong language. Of course he has to come out and say he believes in his players to a very high standard. Southampton have potential to get high up the table next season but personally I can't see us getting top 6 yet. We need 2 or 3 more years of growth first to build before Europe should really look like a consideration.
Well, at the start of the season (and even after a few games) I posted that we could finish between 10-12th. I hope now we might do a little better than that, but always difficult to predict how teams will play over the last month.
No-one knows who will be added to the squad over the summer but if MP is as good with his additions as he is with his tactics, I would certainly feel top 8 for next season is more than possible.
We already have a good young team, a good young manager and stability for the future. There are many clubs who are now in the top half of the EPL who do not have those attributes and I believe will suffer through it next season. Champions League? Probably not just yet-but NC has a record already of achieving his targets ahead of schedule, so is not impossible.
Saint Martin
Just met a Swiss and two French guys whilst out, told them to look out of Southampton and Schiederlin in the next 2/3 years - they gavel some dodgy looks, so better not let me down Mauricio/Nicola.
To hope we don't get into the champions league. I love saints, but we won't go far in the champions league.
europa leauge we have potential to go to quarter finals at least, so let's not jump the gun and get ahead of ourselves
Maybe this is actually a subtle hint about what resources he is getting in the summer, maybe the 15 players out rumour to loose the reserves and this champions league target is a sign that he is getting big funds to build the squad the way he wants it. I think Champions league next season is a far fetched objective but it shows signs that we are looking to compete and maybe we will improve the squad to have Premiership standard reserves too.