Southampton staff profiles
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Pen pics of Southampton's coaching, science, medicine and analytics staff. To see staff profiles for other clubs, click here.
MANAGER/ FOOTBALL DIRECTOR
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.
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.
ASSISTANTS
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.
MEDICAL AND PERFORMANCE
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
Steve Sparks
Nationality: English
Lead rehab and movement specialist. Promoted to first team in August 2018, having first joined the Academy in 2010.
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.
SPORT SCIENTIST
Laura Bowen
Nationality: English
Worked as an Academy GPS analyst at Aston Villa for 15 months before joining Southampton in September 2014. Promoted to first-team data scientist in July 2016. Studying for a PhD at Birmingham University. Switched from data scientist to sport scientist in the summer of 2019.
ANALYSTS
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.
ANALYST
Tobias Loveland
Nationality: English
Joined at the start of the 2018/19 season. Had been with Bristol City since July 2014.
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.
