“It’s not bad, eh?” Claude Puel said, with a wry smile, of Southampton’s feat of reaching a major final for the first time in 14 years. Although it is not job done just yet, a sturdy showing over 180 minutes against Liverpool answered many of the Frenchman’s critics – if he still has any.
It has taken time for Saints supporters to warm to Puel, who has had to put on a brave face at times, but he could yet go down in history alongside Lawrie McMenemy, the only manager to have won a major trophy with the club.
Puel’s quiet, unerring confidence has seen him stick to his beliefs – particularly his continued trust in Southampton’s conveyor belt of young players – and he was rewarded on Wednesday at Anfield.
Josh Sims, the 19-year-old handed his first-team debut by Puel in November, ran half the length of the pitch to supply Shane Long with a perfectly weighted pass for the winner. Puel’s faith in many others was not misplaced either. Nathan Redmond gave Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold a difficult night, while Maya Yoshida and Oriol Romeu were again excellent in Southampton’s spine.
Southampton have played 35 matches this season and Puel, managing outside his homeland for the first time, has relished being thrown in at the deep end, even if it has not always gone as planned. Claudio Ranieri said last season that he loved being called the Tinkerman and it is a tag that could soon become attached to Puel after presiding over almost 200 changes this season.
Over two legs against Liverpool, Puel got it right and his players rewarded him with performances as character-building and as strong as his team selections. Southampton prevailed where so many other top-flight sides capable of challenging in the latter stages of this competition, did not. Watford came undone at home to Gillingham, Accrington Stanley beat Burnley, Norwich won at Everton and Bournemouth slumped at home to Preston North End after making 11 changes. All the while, Southampton won four matches against Premier League opposition without conceding a goal.
Southampton exited the Europa League at home to Hapoel Be’er Sheva with a whimper in December and their league form remains indifferent but now is very much the time to look forward and enjoy what is on the horizon. “We’re disappointed with how we’re doing in the league and Europe didn’t go to plan either, so it’s nice to reward our fans and ourselves for the hard work we’ve put in by getting to a final,” Long said.
Any worry about how José Fonte’s departure for West Ham might affect results has quickly evaporated and the only blemish remains the ankle injury sustained by Virgil van Dijk against Leicester City after a clash with Jamie Vardy. Things could get even better if Southampton overcome Arsenal at St Mary’s in the FA Cup fourth round on Saturday.
Rewind to a little more than a fortnight ago and things were very different, after three league defeats on the spin. Saints have emerged from a season-defining 14 or so days with more than just pride.
The past two weeks have been some journey for Southampton, but they are club always concerned with the bigger picture. In many ways, after years of evolving in the Premier League, a major final has been a long time coming. Immediately after sealing the 2-0 aggregate win over Liverpool, the club paid tribute to Markus Liebherr, the former owner, who took Southampton out of administration after purchasing them for £14m in 2009. Liebherr died of a heart attack in August 2010 but earlier that year witnessed Southampton lift the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy, after beating Carlisle United 4-1 at Wembley.
Adam Lallana, a frustrated Liverpool player on Wednesday, scored the second goal of that game, after Rickie Lambert’s opener. That sun-kissed day is regarded by many Saints supporters as the one that kickstarted Southampton’s revival after a difficult few years, featuring two relegations and looming financial overheads. Katharina Liebherr, Markus’s daughter, took over the reins and although her future at the club remains uncertain, with preliminary talks underway to sell her stake in the club to Chinese investors Lander Sports Development, the Liebherr family will always be remembered fondly. Liebherr released a statement to supporters on Thursday, in which she stated “a potential partnership would need to clear multiple approvals and fulfil strict criteria before being confirmed”.
A six-week exclusivity period between the club and Lander began in November although no agreement was reached. The Guardian understands that while talks are ongoing, a definitive agreement is yet to be completed and there remains no guarantee Liebherr will sell her stake to Lander.
Outside interest in Southampton is no surprise, given assets such as the club’s state-of-the-art Staplewood training complex and the club’s rise on the pitch. “I think it is a club where you can say ‘really well done’ because what they’ve done is remarkable,” said Arsène Wenger, ho will come up against Puel on Saturday. Neither Mauricio Pochettino nor Ronald Koeman, Puel’s immediate predecessors, led Southampton to a major final. Puel, simply, has delivered where others have failed and it is worth considering that he inherited a weaker squad than Koeman. Puel does not carry the same aura as Pochettino or Koeman but he is slowly endearing himself to Southampton supporters. He dropped his usual low-key demeanour on Wednesday too, running down the touchline before clenching both fists in the air to celebrate Long’s winner.
Southampton will not go to Wembley for February’s final to make up the numbers, even if they end up facing Manchester United, the club’s opponents when McMenemy’s men lifted the FA Cup in 1976.
