Lawrie McMenemy said something in his speech at the opening of the Saints Exhibition at Sea City on Wednesday evening that made perfect sense and hopefully will prove prophetical.

Lawrie McMenemy was a canny lad as a Saints manager, he knew how to motivate and get the best out of players and new when they needed coaching and when they didn't.

But one bit of his speech struck home, he mentioned that he thought that Saints would be fine now they had Mark Hughes, he said that Mauricio Pellegrino was a coach and not a manager, but he had a squad that needed managing more than ite needed coaching.

In contrast Mark Hughes is a manager first and foremost and he will concentrate on managing the squad and that will be a big boost to the fight against relegation not to mention the opportunity of FA Cup glory.

I saw his point and could see where the former Saints boss was coming from, I have watched Saints teams this season who have been technically good, they knock the ball around, but they are playing to a rigid formation and it all seemed over coached, the emphasis was on pass pass pass and there was a tendency not to try and hit that killer through ball or shot, but to keep passing to a man in a Saints shirt.

At Wigan that changed and lthough the first half was difficult, as it was always going to be on a bumpy pitch with a swirling wind and a home side up for it, Saints knucked down adapted and then imposed themselves on the game, most importantly they were not afraid to pass and shoot, Paul,Cook will say his side were hard done by and didn't deserve a defeat and that is true of their first half performance, but in the second we created more chances and could have had four.

So Hughes will leave the coaching to his coaches and will man manage, he will install discipline and a work ethic to a squad high on quality, but short on confidence.

We saw just why Mark Hughes was the man for the job at Wigan, now he has a bigger test at The London Stadium, but I feel that he and indeed our squad are better placed to tackle it than they wre two weeks ago under Mauricio Pellegrino.

No disrespect to our former manager, he was a nice guy doing his best, but ultimately as Lawrie McMenemy said, he was a coach, better suited to being a number 2 than the manager of a team.

Photo: Action Images

richardmdcooper added 15:46 - Mar 30 Absolutely. Also it’s been refreshing to listen to our manager actually talk common sense rather than the last two clowns talking in vague circles all the time.
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halftimeorange added 16:03 - Mar 30 There is a lot of truth in this article. how often have we seen idiot coaching remove genuine talent from young players - a classic example being Joe Cole who became simply ordinary. On the other hand, because successive England managers couldn't extract the talent that MLT was blessed with they didn't pick him, preferring instead unskilful 90-minute donkeys - a policy that laid the foundation for England's demise as a footballing heavyweight.

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ThereIn76 added 16:24 - Mar 30 Pity Pellegrino wasn't much of a coach either. I can't think of one player he improved.
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petedoors1 added 17:14 - Mar 30 Well said Lawrie McMenemy it takes a proper manager to now one. The last two we had were poor coaches.
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petedoors1 added 17:16 - Mar 30 Well said Lawrie McMenemy it takes a proper manager to know one. The last two we had were poor coaches.
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SanMarco added 18:23 - Mar 30 Maybe best to wait until Hughes has won a league game before too much 'triumphalism'. The theory that we have a high quality squad being held back by poor management gives us grounds for hope because then a managerial change might make the difference. We needed a change and got one - now we need to win tomorrow...
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BoondockSaint added 21:20 - Mar 30 halftimeorange- They didn't need to "extract" MLT talent. It was there. They just didn't want to play him. Not just because he was was from, as Ralphie would say, a "small club", but because he would take the spotlight off them. If he had been able to put his talents on display on the world stage, the world's press would be raving how lucky the manager was to have someone who could turn the game around in an instant, etc. Hell, I often think the only way Gazza got on the team was that he was from Spuds! It still goes on today, as you say-you see quality talent playing in the Prem and you wonder why they don't get a chance

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A_Saint_in_Stoke added 12:20 - Mar 31 Mauricio Pellegrino didn't give our Saints anything POSITIVES whatsoever, and again took our club backwards at least 2 years ........ and only drained and frustrate players fans and everyone at the club. As I have said MH will get us out of this situation starting in the league to-day @ West Ham ......... Full-Time West Ham 1 Saints 2 we will come away with a minimum of a point. COYR COYR COYR COYR COYR COYR COYR COYR COYR COYR COYR COYR

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dirk_doone added 19:35 - Mar 31 Every manager Les Reed appoints is worse than the previous one. Pellegrino was bad but Hughes is even worse. He is the worst manager we've had since we got promoted.
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