The worst kept rumour of the past few weeks was confirmed when Saints appointed Ronald Koeman as the 19th manager in 23 years of Southampton Football Club.

Ronald Koeman takes up his post as Saints manager knowing that the average lifespan of a Premier League manager is a little less than two years and that as boss of Saints slightly less at around 15 months, but like all new appointees he comes talking the talk and needing to walk the walk.

But of all the previous 18 permanent Saints managers since the sacking of Chris Nicholl in 1991, Koeman arrives with the best pedigree of them all, arguably only Graeme Souness could claim to have as good a record, however his three Scottish titles with Rangers could be said to have been earned in a league far inferior to the Dutch Eridivisie where Koeman won his three titles with two different clubs, this being the case Koeman's experience as a coach both with the Dutch International side as well as a host of top knotch names in not only Holland but Spain and Portugal surely make him the best manager to have ever been appointed by Saints on the basis of his previous track record.

With the current choppy seas at St Mary's the time was not right to appoint another Mauricio Pochettino, rather than an up and coming coach with plenty to prove but little in the way of past success, Saints needed to make a statement of intent, they needed a man who had a reputation and although Koeman is not up there with the likes of Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho etc, he can be said to be in the second tier of European managers, ie those who have won domestic titles but never taken their clubs to success in the European Competitions.

So Koeman appears to be a good fit for Saints, he is experienced, he has a reputation both as a manager and player, he has the clout to not only perhaps convince some members of our squad to stay but to attract some quality names coming in, he has a philosophy about how he wants things run and this appears to sit in nicely with what Saints themselves want.

In short its hard to see who realistically Saints could have got who is better, certainly some of the Spurs fans I know would prefer Koeman to now be in charge at White Hart Lane than Pochettino.

What Koeman needs now though is the unequivical backing of the Saints fans, there are some who are not prepared to give not only Koeman but Katharina Liebherr and her board a fair chance to show that not only do they have the best interests of the club at heart, but know what they are doing.

The appointment of Ronald Koeman perhaps show that they do know something about what they need to do to take things forward to a higher level, they kept their nerve, took their time and got what they consider to be the right man for the job, this being the case they should be applauded for this.

But the proof of the pudding is now in the eating, Koeman has the track record he now needs to walk the walk in England, the next two months will be crucial, he needs to re vamp the coaching staff, something that he has already started to do with the appointment of his brother Erwin, a manager with good experience in his own right as well as one of the former Feyenoord coaches Jan Kluitenberg.

In many respects Saints will now be the envy of most of the Premier league, some Saints fans are spouting doom and gloom after the departure of Pochettino, but the fact is that over half of the Premier League would like to be in our position, a manager with the pedigree of Koeman, significant money to improve the squad which could be further boosted with the departure of a few key players and a strong basis to build on.

Saints will have some stormy seas after the World Cup, but all clubs lose players, due to the riches being offered in wages, all bar a select few are selling clubs, yes ideally you keep all your players, but the key to success at Southampton Football Club has always been about producing players and after selling them, producing more and keeping moving forward, certain ex players have slammed Saints for being a feeder club, but that was the way we had to work in the past and that is the way we will need to work in the future if we are to keep moving forward, perhaps that is a harsh reality for some, but it is a harsh truth as well.

But in Koeman we have a man who can take us forward, I for one feel that in this respect we are now better positioned than we were a month or so ago.

Photo: Action Images via Reuters