Gers coach says copying Saints will help close the gap
When Graeme Murty was at Southampton they were at their lowest ebb.
After 26 years in England’s top f light they’d dropped down not one but two divisions into League One.
On the face of it, St Mary’s should have been engulfed in a dark cloud. But it wasn’t. Murty could see bright light at the end of the tunnel.
He looked in the dressing room and saw young, hungry players such as Adam Lallana and Morgan Schneiderlin.
Emerging talent like Luke Shaw, Calum Chambers, Alex Oxlade- Chamberlain and James Ward- Prowse were in the youth ranks.
And behind the scenes building blocks were being put in place to ensure Saints got back to the top flight – and never plumbed the depths of League One again.
Murty, his team-mates and Saints fans bought into the vision. But more importantly, they had the perseverance to see it through. Today, the same club will compete with Manchester United in the EFL Cup Final at Wembley.
Lallana, now at Liverpool, and Everton star Schneiderlin are valued at a combined £50million. Shaw, Chambers and Oxlade- Chamberlain were sold for a healthy profit to United and Arsenal.
Ward-Prowse is now the poster boy at St Mary’s for the next batch of youngsters about to burst on to the scene such as Josh Sims, Sam McQueen and Jack Stephens.
Murty knows it didn’t happen by chance. He was there at the start and now marvels at it in full swing.
As caretaker boss at Rangers, he’d love to see it replicated at Ibrox. But he knows it’ll be a long process.
Murty said: “We started with a points deduction in League One at Southampton after administration.
“But as players it was just a case of staking a claim to be part of the club going forward.
“When you look at the team, it had Lallana, Schneiderlin and Jose Fonte was added to it. Look where they’ve gone. Those guys were infected with the energy to take the club to a better situation. And the fans bought into it.
“At Ibrox now processes are being put in place to ensure success. The processes are the same whatever club you look at. I’ve been to see Benfica and Borussia Dortmund work. The processes behind the scenes are geared to make the first team better.
“It takes time. But you’re judged by success on the pitch so we have to accelerate things forward. We have to make sure the gap gets noticeably smaller until there is no gap and we’re first again.”
Murty signed for Saints in 2009 and the progress they’ve made in just eight years has been immeasurable.
He said: “When I saw the fan base and infrastructure I realised it had been built to go only one way. And you’re seeing that now, all because of things that were put in place when Southampton dropped to League One.
“The people who started that deserve massive credit. The club were clear that within five years they’d be challenging in the Premier League and in Europe.
“To see them actual ly execute it, you have to take your hat off to them.”
Mur t y ’ s for t e i s in developing young players. And as Saints academy coach in 2012, he could see the quality coming through the ranks. But as he nurtures kids for Rangers, the 42-year-old demands they have personal qualities as well as talent.
He said : “More than anything, Saints’ academy is clear that they must be good people to thrive.”