Arron Sanders takes a look at what is looking likely to be the set up surrounding Mauricio Pellegrino for the coming season.

Mauricio Pellegrino is due to announce his backroom team, before Saints head out to Austria for the first half of pre-season next week.

According to the Daily Echo Eric Black will be staying on at St Mary's as a first-team coach, while Pellegrino has also selected two of his own personnel in Xavier Tamerit & Carlos Compagnucci to join him at the club.

Black was appointed as assistant manager to Claude Puel last term, but after the Frenchman's sacking he was replaced by Pellegrino, his future was very much up in the air.

Black is set to remain in the dugout next term, said due to being popular among the players, the club also feel he can offer support to Pellegrino as he settles in to his first management job in the Premier League, as he did for Puel.

Black's familiarity with the current squad and experience of English football is viewed as highly valuable by the board.

Dave Watson remains in his role as head of goalkeeping.

Watson has been a permanent fixture of Saints' backroom for the last 3 seasons, He is a club appointment to the role and no matter who manages the team he would remain on the clubs coaching staff.

An announcement on Pellegrino's backroom team will come before the end of the week, with details and paperwork being finalised, and then Saints will head off to Austria as pre-season really gets under way.

They will play one pre season friendly alongside a week long intensive training camp.

The club then returns to play a friendly at Brentford on July 22, before heading to France two days later.

An announcement on the pre-season friendly matches for their trips to the continent is expected imminently.

The majority of the team returned on Monday for early fitness testing, while those who have been at the Confederations cup or U21's European Championships on international duty have been granted extended leave to recuperate.

Any other Internationals return on Friday ahead of the Austria trip.

What do you make of the decision to keep Eric Black at the club? Is his in depth knowledge of English football the right grounds to keep him on or was he part of the problem last season and not the solution ?

Photo: Action Images

wibbersda added 09:41 - Jul 5 Oh dear!
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A1079 added 10:06 - Jul 5 It is difficult to make a considered view on this, because naturally, all we have to go on is hearsay and gossip, but based on what you hear from elsewhere etc, Black's reputation is not great. How much of our style of play etc was down to him last season, I do not know but there was a feeling that he was a factor. At the moment it slightly feels like, we have changed the cover of a book but the contents and the script within it remains the same. But, we need to have faith and belief that it is going to work and at this stage I reserve judgement and the proof as they say will be in the pudding.

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helpineedsomebody added 10:18 - Jul 5 46pts +cup final why does he have to lose his job
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highfield49 added 10:31 - Jul 5 Black must have qualities that are invisible to the supporters so perhaps he needs to show a touch more enthusiasm for his job when in the public eye. However, it's hard to envisage a situation, during a match, where fans are screaming for his dismissal so, until he is tapped up by Liverpool, he might as well carry on regardless. I only hope the players that like him don't do so cos he doesn't work them too hard in training!

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TimSaint added 10:37 - Jul 5 Really ? The guy has poor records at all his previous clubs and is as much to blame for last season as Puel. I was sincerely hoping that Eric Black would have left with Puel and that we would have been able to get Sammy Lee back, due to the managerial shake up at Palace.
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TeamCortese added 10:46 - Jul 5 Wow....What are the management smoking?....just wow!
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steve73 added 11:11 - Jul 5 Oh for God's sake. Definitely a big part of the problem last year. Can't believe he's been retained.
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Big_T added 11:51 - Jul 5 Trying to play devils advocate here, perhaps Erik Black will just be retained for some or all of this season to offer a stable conduit for other staff and players to bed in with the new manager, then when MaPe has found his footing and targeted staff that he wishes to bring in to help him things will change again. Or maybe someone MaPe has already lined up to work with isn't available till next summer ? Or just maybe MaPe likes him and thinks he can work well with him.

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abingdonsaint added 13:42 - Jul 5 As a matter of interest, presumably all those so certain that Eric Black was 'part of the problem' last season spent many hours observing training sessions, and interviewing other staff and players....
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BoondockSaint added 14:07 - Jul 5 Since when is "popular with the players" a good thing? Because he doesn't work them too hard? After last year's underachievement, you would think they would bring in a hard nosed type to make sure they are in shape and at least know how to take a penalty and a set piece.
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redandwhitedee added 14:13 - Jul 5 Great news. Excellent coach.
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SanMarco added 18:30 - Jul 5 I thought this news would get people going - perhaps he is fluent in Spanish? Perhaps he is marvellous and we simply don't know it...yet
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SaintBrock added 12:23 - Jul 6 This is what "Jobs for the Boys" means in reality. Les GReed has appointed all of his old FA mates (including Little Sam by the way) to nice cushy numbers in a layer of management under the manager and his own staff Sly Les has been allowed to install the classic pincer technique that in effect has Pellegrio's maracas in the nutcrackers so no way are his people going anywhere. Only Ralph to out-fox now and that shouldn't be too difficult!

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