Mauricio Pochettino has claimed that Saints fans hate him because they cared for him but although Saints fans did have affection for him, the reason he is hated is far different.
Mauricio Pochettino has been telling the press that the reason that he receives a hate filled welcome when he returns to St Mary's is because Saints fans loved him so when he was at that the club and that he takes that abuse as a compliment.
"For me it was difficult, it's true,"
"The first day, I remember my first game back there, they prepared the orange day to try to upset me.
"But in the same way they showed their love for me because if they ignore me it's because they never cared for me.
"But if they want to show their love for another manager it was because it was hard for them."
"Always you have to respect the supporters and they were not happy that first I moved here and then Toby and now Victor," Pochettino said.
"But I think we need to show full respect to the club and our former fans but it is normal when the people love you and you take a decision that is not for them, it's normal that they are a little bit upset about the decision. You can respect that.
"For different situations, we had to split our way. But always my feelings and my memories will be good in my mind."
It seems that our former manager has a very high opinion of his standing amongst Saints supporters when he was at the club, of course he did well when he was at St Mary's and took it to a top 8 finish in his only full season here, but he was never loved by the fans who found his attitude and refusal to speak English in press conferences baffling, the feeling was that he never really had true affection for the club and the fans found it hard to warm to him as a person, indeed he rarely did anything other than token gestures that showed he cared for the supporters.
Many Saints fans felt that his character was one of being very underhand and shady, that he had his own interests at heart rather than Saints and when he left for Spurs that it was something that had been in the pipeline for several months rather than a surprise snap decision.
In contrast Ronald Koeman was loved in his two years, Pochettino is way off the mark if he thinks the Orange Day was to try and upset him, quite the opposite it was to show love for Ronald Koeman who was truly respected, everything that Pochettino thinks Saints fans felt for him is actually what they feel for Koeman, a man who did love the club and the fans who was open and affectionate towards the club and fans, but who ultimately was enticed away when Everton found their price.
When Pochettino left we were not hurt because we were not surprised, the rumours about his joining Spurs had been around for months, we almost expected him to betray us, we were insulted not hurt which is two different things entirely. We had forgotten and moved on from Pochettino within weeks of his leaving
With Koeman is was hurt and to the bone, we still feel that hurt now, yes everything Pochettinno thinks about why the Saints fans hate him is true, but it concerns Koeman not the Argentinian.
When Pochettino joined Saints he had been out of work for several months, in Spain his reputation was that of a manager who was a perennial relegation fighter, he was not being courted by bigger clubs than his former employer Espanyol, at St Mary's he was handed the tools to move things on in his own career, something he did well but not brilliantly in terms of what he achieved for Saints.
On reflection with so many of his side now at Liverpool, Manchester United or Spurs, the feeling is that Saints should perhaps have done better in that one full season, certainly Ronald Koeman with a team that initially looked weaker than the one that Pochettino had, did much better.
We hate Pochettino not because we loved him, but because of the lack of respect he showed us as a club and as fans bot whilst he was here and after he left, but we will never feel the same pain as when Koeman left us, the hurt long ago ceased with Pochettino whilst with Koeman it will be there for years.
The reason for that is under the Dutchman we felt that we had a manager capable of taking us places and perhaps becoming one of the greatest managers the club has ever had, we never felt that Pochettino wanted to stay a minute longer than he had to, but we never felt that he would take us any higher than the 8th he managed, whereas with Koeman we thought he could take us much higher and he did !