1 week Ago
NEARLY 19 years after making his Saints debut as a player, a 36 year old Adam Lallana is set to step into the dugout at St Mary's. The midfielder has been named as assistant boss to serve under Simon Rusk for an interim period after manager Ivan Juric's departure. Rusk and Lallana are expected to take the final seven matches of the Premier League season, with relegation to the second tier already confirmed.
There is pressure on the matches, though, starting with Saturday's home game against Aston Villa, to avoid an unwanted points record. Rusk's Saints must acquire two more points to avoid being associated with the worst ever Premier League season, set by Derby County in 2008. Rusk oversaw two matches in December following Russell Martin's sacking; a 2-1 defeat to Liverpool in the cup and a 0-0 draw at Fulham.
Lallana was still focusing on playing during that interim period, but looks set to hang up the boots for now to help Rusk prepare his teams. Adam Lallana has made 14 Premier League appearances this season (Image: PA) It is not the first time Lallana has served as a coach during an interim period, after assisting Brighton caretaker Andrew Crofts in 2022. Crofts and Lallana did not oversee a match with Brighton but were in charge for 10 days before the next permanent boss was appointed.
Lallana was injured at the time, but continued to combine playing and coaching after the arrival of new boss Roberto De Zerbi at Amex Stadium. In addition to experiences with Brighton's first team and under-21s, Lallana joined up with Lee Carsley's England under-21s as a technical coach. He started in September 2023 and remained with Carsley up until the March 2024 camp, prior to re-joining Saints on a one year deal in July.
Lallana was expected to land his UEFA B and A licenses by the end of 2023/24, before opting to park his coaching journey to focus on playing. During pre-season, Lallana told the Daily Echo : "I went away with the 21s and I was like a player mentor type. Basically, to coach really.
"I've led bits of training as well because I've been doing my badges. It's all just building up experience and it was absolutely great. "Probably not sustainable whilst you're still playing, especially whilst in Europe, and I probably did a bit too much and burnt the candle at both ends.
"I've stepped away from that this year just so I can fully concentrate on Southampton, staying in the league, keeping my body as well as I can." Adam Lallana has great admiration for Mauricio Pochettino (Image: PA) Lallana said he served as a bridge between the coaches and the players with the Young Lions, participating as a player in some training sessions. Since arriving at Saints for his second spell, the former club captain has upheld professional standards and put an arm around youngsters.
"The dynamic that Russell's got with the group is how I'd want to see myself as a coach. You want to feel like you're a player still at times," he said. "But when stuff needs to get said and there's demand, it's like, no, no, no, this is the level.
I need this, I need that. "Don't do that. Behaviour, punctuality.
If it's not here, we're running. That's how you create a philosophy, in my opinion." Lallana won 34 England caps as a player, made 305 appearances in the Premier League and has represented Saints 283 times in total.
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