Southampton staff profiles

DIRECTOR OF FOOTBALL OPERATIONS

Matt Crocker

Nationality: English

Returned to the club in November 2019. During his previous time as Academy Manager, from 2006 to 2013, they had produced the likes of Gareth Bale, Theo Walcott and Luke Shaw. Worked for the FA for six years after that, as Head of Coaching and Player Development. Replaced Ross Wilson as Director of Football Operations at Southampton.

MANAGER

Ralph Hassenhuttl

Nationality: Austrian

Took over from the sacked Mark Hughes in December 2018. A former centre forward who won eight caps for his native Austria. Began his coaching career with Unterhaching in Germany, before moving onto VfR Aalen and FC Ingolstadt. Really made his name at RB Leipzig, leading them to runners-up spot in the Bundesliga in his first season in charge, in 2016/17.

ASSISTANT

Kelvin Davis

Nationality: English

Former keeper made 271 appearances for the Saints. Appointed senior first team coach in December 2017 and stayed on under Hughes. Focused on developing pathway for best Academy players to first team following July 2019 restructure.

ASSISTANT

Dave Watson

Nationality: English

Joined Southampton from Norwich in 2014 and promoted to Head of Goalkeeping in 2016. Worked with Roy Hodgson's England at the 2014 World Cup. Spent a decade as keeper for hometown club Barnsley and won five caps for England Under-21s. Promoted from GK coach to assistant as part of July 2019 restructure.

ASSISTANT

Craig Fleming

Nationality: English

Promoted from Academy to first team in December 2018 following appointment of Hasenhüttl. Former Norwich defender initially joined Saints in 2015 as lead U18s coach and later worked with U23s.

GOALKEEPER COACH

Andrew Sparkes

Nationality: Welsh

Joined from South African side Orlando Pirates in July 2019. Previously Head of Academy Goalkeeping at Swansea and is very well-travelled, having worked for New York Red Bulls and Red Bull Salzburg.

HIGH PERFORMANCE MANAGER

Mark Jarvis

Nationality: English

Arrived from the English Institute of Sport in August 2018 to become Southampton's strategic performance leader. Was an S&C coach at West Brom from 2010 to 2013 and rose through the ranks during 14 years with the EIS. His last role there was as Director of Performance Solutions.

FIRST TEAM DOCTOR

Inigo Sarriegui

Nationality: Spanish

Replaced Thamindu Wedatilake as first team doctor in July 2019. Had previously worked with the Academy since 2015 and with Team Sky.

HEAD OF SPORTS SCIENCE AND FITNESS

Alek Gross

Nationality: English

Works as first-team head of sport science and S&C coach. First joined in June 2013 as lead Academy S&C coach.

HEAD OF PROFESSIONAL MEDICAL SERVICES

Steve Wright

Nationality: English

Moved to St Mary's in 2014 from West Brom. Also head of medical services for the foundation phase.

STRENGTH & CONDITIONING

Matthew Banks

Nationality: Welsh

Joined the club's Academy in February 2019, having previously worked in rugby union. Promoted to first team in July 2019.

SENIOR FIRST TEAM PHYSIO

Kevin Mulholland

Nationality: Irish

Joined Southampton from Sheffield Wednesday in June 2016. Also head physio for Ireland U21s.

SPORT SCIENTIST

Bill Styles

Nationality: English

Experienced practitioner. Assistant to Kenny McMillan at Celtic before moving to Southampton.

SOFT TISSUE THERAPIST

Gianni Fenu

Nationality: Italian

Joined from Huddersfield in 2016. Has extensive experience in rugby league, having worked for Bradford Bull and Leeds Rhinos.

THERAPIST

Chris Lovegrove

Nationality: English

Long-standing member of staff. Explains in this video how the department has changed during his time at the club.

SPORTS THERAPIST

Jack Curson

Nationality: English

Joined club in 2017 after five years with Reading.

LEAD DATA SCIENTIST

Alex Kleyn

Nationality: English

Joined from Norwich in September 2017, initially as data analyst, before being promoted to lead data scientist in January 2019.

DATA & ANALYTICS MANAGER

Joseph McDermott

Nationality: English

Joined club as a Data Engineer in November 2016. Promoted to current role in November 2020.

HEAD OF FIRST-TEAM ANALYSIS

Scott Waters

Nationality: English

Joined in August 2011. Responsible for all pre, live and post-match analysis for the first team.

DATA ANALYST

Peter Thompson

Nationality: English

Physics graduate who joined the club in January 2021 and reports to Kleyn.

ANALYST

Tobias Loveland

Nationality: English

Joined at the start of the 2018/19 season. Had been with Bristol City since July 2014.

ANALYST

Adam Ridgewell

Nationality: English

Joined in September 2018 from Doncaster, where he had been Head of Performance Analysis for four years.