Southampton’s new manager Will Still spoke to the press on Friday ahead of his opener against Wrexham on Saturday afternoon.
For both Wrexham and Southampton, Saturday’s game at St Mary’s is the start of a new chapter. For Southampton, it’s a return to the Championship but a new beginning under management in Will Still, who has previously excelled in France with the likes of Reims and RC Lens.
And for Phil Parkinson and Wrexham, it’s a first season in the second tier of English football for the first time in more than 40 years, and a first game for their eight new players.
The last player to arrive at Wrexham was Welsh international Kieffer Moore. Wrexham have signed Moore on a permanent deal from Sheffield United and he arrives alongside other marquee signings like Lewis O’Brien, and Liberato Cacace from Empoli.
The Saints, meanwhile, have signed just two new players this summer and many Southampton fans are fearful of the new season given the current lack of incoming players.
Southampton boss Will Still applauds Wrexham’s success
Speaking in a packed-out press conference room for the first time as Southampton manager, Still was of course asked about Wrexham and he didn’t hide his admiration for what the team and for what Parkinson has done over the last few years, winning three-straight promotions to land themselves in the Championship this season.
When asked about his opponents on Saturday, Still hailed the team’s efficiency on the pitch and their recent success, saying: “I think they’re a really efficient team. They’ve got quite a clear identity in what they do and how they go about things. They’ve obviously been incredibly successful. So fair play to them and congratulations to them.
“We’re expecting a lot of intensity, a lot of 50/50 challenges and a high intensity game because that’s just the way they play.”
Josh Windass gives his prediction for Southampton vs Wrexham
Few know what to expect from Wrexham next season. Many would expect them to struggle given the fact that they have just come up from the third tier, but after completing eight impressive signings and given their recent record of promotion, few would be surprised if Wrexham are challenging near the top once again next season.
Likewise, few may know what to expect from Southampton. They have got obvious quality in their ranks following their stint in the Premier League and they still have retained a lot of their best players, but they were shocking in the Premier League and under new management and a manager who has never managed England before, they too are somewhat unknown quantities.
Someone who has played against Southampton before and who has played in the Championship many a time is Josh Windass. The Wrexham new boy spoke to the press ahead of Saturday and Windass gave his prediction for the Southampton game.
He explained: “If we can go there and implement our game plan and get our players on the ball and do what we can do, I’m sure there’s a lot of players in the same bracket as me that know we can go there and [cause] what seems to be an upset, but I don’t think it would be.”
For Wrexham, avoiding defeat or at least putting in a decent performance on Saturday would be the ideal start to the new season. A win would be quite unprecedented.
Kick-off is at 12.30 and the game will be shown live on Sky Sports.