Southampton staff profiles

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.

DIRECTOR OF PERFORMANCE SCIENCE

Mo Gimpel

Nationality: English

A Southampton institution, having spent the last 21 years was the club. Has worked as first team physio, Head of Sports Medicine and latterly as Head of Performance Science. At the end of 2018 he moved to more of a research role, with Mark Jarvis coming in as High Performance Manager.

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.