Alan Pardew still has a lot of love for Southampton’s supporters despite his controversial exit in 2010.
The former Saints boss spoke to The Coaches’ Voice in a recent interview and reflected on his tenure at St Mary’s.
Pardew took charge in the summer of 2009 and led the club to success in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy.
However, disputes with Nicola Cortese led to his dismissal in the following year, with Nigel Adkins taking charge and proceeding to lead Southampton back to the Championship and then the Premier League.
Pardew opened up on his frosty relationship with Cortese but was quick to recall the positive memories of his time with Saints. He said:
Firstly, we were [on] minus 10 points [at] the start of the season as there was a financial problem. I had no team – literally no team – and [had] to build a team from scratch.
Again, I thought I did really, really well there. We signed Rickie Lambert, who no-one fancied at Bristol Rovers. We managed to get him on the right track.
But we brought some good players in there, like [Alex Oxlade] Chamberlain, who I gave a debut to, and [Adam] Lallana.
In the first division, I had Chamberlain [on] one side and Lallana the other side, and Rickie Lambert at the top of the pitch, which you could play in the Premier League today probably if Rickie was a couple of years younger!
I loved Southampton, I love their fans and I loved the football players that I had there.
Read Southampton’s verdict
It’s always fascinating to hear what previous managers – particularly under old regimes – think of their spells at Southampton. Pardew has had varying degrees of success since leaving in 2010, but it’s nice to hear that he still remembers us fondly.
His work at the club hardly warranted a dismissal, but it seems his relationship with Cortese simply became too problematic. Ultimately, the chairman made the right decision appointing Adkins, as the success we enjoyed under his management was unprecedented.
What the future holds for Pardew is unclear, but he evidently still holds Southampton close to his heart despite his departure in rather unceremonious circumstances…
