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

Richard Kitzbichler

Nationality: Austrian

The former Austria international midfielder was an analyst (and for a short time assistant Head Coach) at Red Bull Salzburg before joining Hassenhuttl (another Red Bull alumni) at Southampton in August 2019.

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 and has a particular focus on set pieces.

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.

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.

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.

SPORT SCIENTIST

Bill Styles

Nationality: English

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

PERFORMANCE PSYCHOLOGIST

Malcolm Frame

Nationality: English

Has been working as a consultant at the club for two decades.

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 PROFESSIONAL MEDICAL SERVICES

Steve Wright

Nationality: English

Moved to St Mary's in 2014 from West Brom as Senior Physio. Job title changed to Head of Medical Services for the Professional Phase in 2018.

LEAD PERFORMANCE PHYSIO

Matt Tinsley

Nationality: English

With British Sailing for two years before joining Saints in April 2019.

PHYSIO

Luke Thomas

Nationality: English

Joined from Birmingham City in March 2018 and promoted to the first team in October 2021.

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.

DATA ANALYST

Henry Baptiste

Nationality: Belgian

Joined the club in September 2020 and uses machine learning techniques to assess the performance of players

PERFORMANCE DATA ANALYST

Harriet Eastham

Nationality: English

Joined Saints in January 2018 as Research and Insights Executive. Promoted to current role in December 2019 and also Executive Director for Girls and Women. Delivered our Power BI Masterclass in April 2022.

Player Insights Manager

Tom Stockwell

Nationality: English

With Southampton since 2011 and moved into this new role in October 2020, after the Player Insights department was created by Crocker. Idea is to bring an analytical and data-driven edge to scouting and recruitment. Was previously Scout Co-Ordination Manager.

Player Insights Lead

Sam Stanton

Nationality: English

Was Head of Analysis at Bristol City for seven years before joining Saints in January 2021.

Player Insights Analyst

Jonathan Kaye

Nationality: English

Arrived from Cambridge United, where he was first-team performance analyst, in May 2021.