Wotte a way to start for new Southampton head coach
New boss Mark Wotte has vowed to change Southampton's luck - starting at Carrow Road tomorrow night. Wotte took over as head coach following the resignation of Jan Poortvliet on Friday and will be in charge for the first time against the Canaries.
New boss Mark Wotte has vowed to change Southampton's luck - starting at Carrow Road tomorrow night.
Wotte took over as head coach following the resignation of Jan Poortvliet on Friday and will be in charge for the first time against the Canaries.
He paid tribute to his fellow Dutchman when he said: “I got to know Jan when I started working here at Southampton and he's a lovely guy, with a lot of experience in football. I'm very sorry for him that he took this decision.
“I think Jan was a very unlucky coach this season, because I haven't seen a lot of teams that have played better football.
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“Sometimes we created more opportunities, but ended up with only one point or nothing at all. He was very unlucky.”
Wotte, who joined the Saints with Poortvliet last May, is hoping to add to his squad before the end of the January transfer window.
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He told the club's official website: “I have asked the board if it was OK to sign a player and they agreed that we can strengthen the squad with an extra player, and have given us permission to sort that out.
“At the moment we are waiting on the decisions of some players to join us at Southampton and strengthen the squad, but if
we are going to sign a player it will be someone that has more experience than, for instance, an Academy player.
“I am not going into any speculation about names or positions though, because the players I have now are my best players and, together with my staff, I have to prepare the team for tomorrow's match against Norwich.”
Wotte has added Michael Svensson to his coaching team.
He said: “The first thing I did was have a chat with Michael Svensson on the Friday night and I explained the situation that Jan had stood down and they had asked me to take over.
“I asked Michael to join me, because I think he can add something to my staff, especially because he's such a role model for the boys.”
