Southampton: Losing Ross Wilson to Rangers has significant positives for Saints

Southampton announced the departure of their Director of Football Operations Ross Wilson earlier today as he makes the move to Rangers.

The 36-year-old will leave to become the new Sporting Director at Ibrox and will be the last of the previous Saints board structure to leave their role.

An official statement from the club saw CEO Martin Semmens thank Wilson for his work on the South Coast and outline the ideal candidate for his replacement, whilst Wilson also spoke about the positive experiences that he has had with Saints.

Wilson was a key figure in recruitment at the club and will leave with a mixed track record over the past few years.

Success was seen with the captures of some players that he oversaw, but other big money signings have not gone to plan.

Whilst losing someone in a Football Director role can often be hard to recover from, this move could have significant positives for Saints.

With Wilson, Les Reed and Ralph Krueger having now left the club, this marks the beginning of a new cycle for the club with Ralph Hasenhuttl at the centre.

More from Saints Marching

• Grading the Southampton Transfer Window Part 2: Arrivals
• Grading the Southampton Transfer Window Part 1: Departures
• It’s time to talk about Gavin Bazunu
• Rain clouds on the horizon? Southampton beat Plymouth Argyle
• A lament for Southampton legend James Ward-Prowse

The Austrian is used to working in the environment he was in at Red Bull Leipzig – based on analysis and specific recruitment strategies that have made them, New York Red Bulls and Red Bull Salzburg successful.

Whilst Saints have benefited from specific tactics in this regard too in the past, they have fallen from that somewhat and will hopefully benefit from a renewal of their plans.

Hasenhuttl was dealt a blow when his assistant Danny Rohl left for Bayern Munich earlier this season, but he brought in Richard Kitzbichler as a replacement after his work in the Red Bull system in the past.

Now there is a chance to make Hasenhuttl more comfortable with his environment by appointing someone that he trusts as Football Director – a role that Martin Semmens confirmed would be used when a replacement for Wilson is found.

It was considered a great coup to get the current Saints boss in last December and the structure needs to be ideal for him to build for the long-term and get the club back to stability.

Things may not have gone well for Saints in the past few years, but they do seem to be stripping everything back and restarting once again – which can only be a positive thing.