Saints are likely to use the breathing space afforded by the strange goings on surrounding Ronald Koeman's departure from St Mary's to consider all the aspects of the next appointment.
Two years ago when Mauricio Pochettino left it is fair to say that the club were caught on the hop, there had been major upheaval behind the scenes at St Mary's and the likes of Ralph Krueger and Gareth Rogers had yet to find their feet in their new positions.
But they thought on their feet and within two weeks had appointed Ronald Koeman.
Koeman fitted the profile that the club wanted, a still young but experienced manager at the levels the club wanted o compete at, but whilst those at the club and indeed the supporters accepted that Koeman would move on to bigger things, all indications were that when he did so he would do so with honour and integrity as he had done when leaving Feyenoord.
This turned out not to be the case and although this saga continues to rumble on at the moment, it does allow the club breathing space to consider their next move.
Of course a similar type of manager to both Koeman & Pochettino will be considered, Frank De Boer, Unai Emery & Andres Villas Boas etc, ie a young ambitious foreign coach, but the experiences of the past two years has made the club re think its strategy, although they like the profile that the last two managers fitted they do not like the way that they move on with no apparent loyalty.
That means Saints may opt for a different type of manager, that is why Manuel Pellegrini and Eddie Howe feature in the running.
It is fair to say tha neither is probably the fans favourite for the job, but the club could feel if they are to avoid the issues with the past two appointments then a different type of manager is required.
In the case of Pellegrini that means an older manager who does not need to further his career with every offer that comes along and who is more likely to see out his contract.
Pellegrini has been successful both as a manager with money to spend as at Manchester City and also on the same type of budget that Saints have, with spells at both Villareal & Malaga being on the scale that Saints want to emulate.
Eddie Howe has long been linked with Saints and indeed was rumoured to have turned down the Saints job in 2010 before Nigel Adkins was appointed, the feeling amongst supporters is that Howe does not have the profile needed or the experience to take over at St Mary's in a difficult situation.
But the club themselves are considering Howe for the continuity that he would offer, they are looking for stability and think that going forward they want a anager who is focussed on the task and will see through his contract and not jump ship at the first big cheque waved at him.
Whilst Saints are not ruling out anyone at the moment and may still opt for a Villas Boas or Emery type, they are carefully considering a different approach this time around.
Although the Koeman situation came out of the blue it was not completely a shock to the club, they had doubts about his commitment after sitting down with him and as I pointed out in an article on this website over a week ago, the club appeared to have briefed the Echo regarding the commitment and ambition they had given Koeman, they were almost setting the scene for what did actually happen.
This means that they will hit the ground running, they would have been sounding out the market long before the Everton issue emerged and they will be using the time that the delays are now causing to start contacting potential replacements.
It is not clear why this delay in Koeman actually leaving has happened, it could be that Saints are playing hardball, certainly Everton showed their desperation too early meaning that Saints ae not budging on their demands and they have the financial clout to pay Koeman his salary and put him on gardening leave should Everton not agree each and every term they want, they will not want to do that, but hey are not going to b a push over.
The delay could also be on Koeman's side, certainly it is unprecedented not just in football but in any major business for a key person who has been headhunted to suddenly up sticks and go on holiday mid negotiations/
Everton themselves might be the cause of the delay, perhaps they are not as sue about Koeman as they once where given his behaviour this week.
Whatever the reasons it gives Saints breathing space and hopefully they will use that time well.