Daily Echo:

Everything you hear about Mauricio Pellegrino suggests he is a very methodical character, but he could be forgiven if his head is spinning a little at the moment.

He has been handed a real baptism of fire in his first managerial job in the Premier League.

Not only does he have the task of trying to instil his beliefs and philosophies into the squad, to restore confidence and unity where it has been fractured, to ensure he has the correct players he requires, and manage very high expectations, but he has to deal with an ugly transfer saga too.

Virgil van Dijk’s situation at Saints is dominating the conversation surrounding the club right now. It’s inevitable given how important he is, and the fact he is widely recognised, by potential suitors too, as arguably the best centre half in the top flight.

While the national newspapers and rolling TV news have largely ignored every other Saints topic this summer – even Pellegrino’s appointment barely got a mention - van Dijk’s situation has been the only thing really giving them coverage, partly of course as he is linked to very high profile clubs.

For Pellegrino it’s a problem he has not had a hand in creating, but has to deal with. And his vast experience of football dressing rooms will mean he knows how important his handling of the situation will be.

Get it right, as Ronald Koeman did when he strode into a seemingly chaotic situation a few years ago, and you have strengthened your position markedly before a ball has even been kicked.

You have proven you are the boss, you have stamped your authority amongst the players and from then it can be your way or the highway, assuming you get off to a decent enough start results wise.

Get it wrong and be seen as weak or indecisive and it’s a struggle to recover from those first impressions with the players.

Obviously for Pellegrino much of this is out of his hands. He cannot control what van Dijk does next, he also cannot control whether a club makes a huge offer for the player, and ultimately it will be a business decision above his head as to whether it would be accepted or not.

All he can do is manage his part of the dilemma as well as he can.

So far, so good, it seems, from the outside at least.

He has been clear about the situation, about his stance, about what he has told the player, and has moved to be open quickly, soon nipping in the bud the rumours that were starting to circulate.

The ball has been placed into the court of the player and the club, particularly Les Reed, and it’s up to them now, especially as Pellegrino takes his squad to France today, leaving behind van Dijk with breathing space for more discussions to take place.

In the wider context, we are seeing player power take control again. This seems somewhat remarkable given that van Dijk happily signed a six-year contract only 12 months ago.

Saints are backed into a corner. Privately they are insistent he isn’t going anywhere.

Whether that will be enough to make him back down remains to be seen. What happens if he doesn’t is a big question.

Are Saints really prepared to hold him to his contract, even if that means a business decision that sees a colossal asset rotting away training on his own? As much as people criticise the club for a lack of ambition if they sell, that would be some call to make.

And what if that offer of £70m does come in? In any circumstance, let alone with a player agitating for a move, that is a lot to turn down no matter who you are.

That is all for the future though, and Pellegrino can only focus on the present.

He will have learned a lot about his squad from his first taste of Saints management on English soil in a 2-2 draw with Championship side Brentford at Griffin Park.

It is hard from the outside to draw too many judgements at this stage of pre-season.

This was only the second proper game Saints have played – with a behind closed doors friendly chucked in due to the seemingly rather belatedly thrown together schedule they have.

There are still three weeks until the Premier League campaign starts, Brentford are further along the line with a fortnight until they kick-off in the Championship.

The weather was also a bit of a leveller too. The torrential rain before the game created a surface where the ball got held up at times, making passing tricky.

In terms of what Pellegrino was working on, you could see the basis of a team playing in a 4-2-3-1, pressing certainly higher up the pitch than Claude Puel’s side did. It looked more dynamic also.

First impressions were that the squad Pellegrino has will be much better suited to a more clearly defined style which he appears to be implementing.

This game will have been valuable in terms of things to work on, and also will have informed him about where he might want to try and strengthen.

Saints have an established squad, so we know all about most of them. We know the strengths and weaknesses. Pellegrino is just learning all of this.

The only player we hadn’t really seen was Jan Bednarek. He has only just reported back to Staplewood for the first time and so can be given a bit of leeway for what was a difficult first 45 minutes in a Saints shirt.

Five minutes before the break he was skinned by Sergi Canos breaking down the left, and the Brentford man’s cutback into the six yard box provided a simple close range finish for the sliding Lasse Vibe to give the Bees the lead.

After Sofiane Boufal had squandered a golden chance following a great run, Saints levelled up on 53 minutes when some comedy Brentford defending gifted Charlie Austin the ball in space in the area and he slotted past the helpless keeper.

Just eight minutes later Austin was at it again, this time a hammered left footed finish on the turn from Sam McQueen’s left wing cross.

If there was relief at some goals at last, given the end to last season and the stalemate against St Gallen first up, there was a moment of frustration eight minutes from time as Saints failed to hold on for a morale boosting victory.

It was a horror moment for Fraser Forster, who seemed to have little more than routine catching practice when rising to collect a hanging cross from Joshua Clarke.

However, he let the ball squirm through his hands and it trickled into the net.

Another intense trip away comes at the right time for Pellegrino. The getting to know you stage has to come to an end, and the real work starts now.

SAINTS: Forster, Pied (Jones 77), Bednarek (Stephens 45), Yoshida (Gardos 77), Targett (McQueen 45), Davis (Wood 63), Romeu (Hojbjerg 63), Long, Tadic (Gallagher 63), Boufal (Johnson 71), Austin (Gabbiadini 63).

Goals: Austin 53, 61

BRENTFORD: Bentley, Colin (Maupay 66), Henry (Watkins 66), Mokotjo (Field 66), Egan (Bjelland 77), Barbet (Dean 77), Canos (Cole 77), Sawyers (Jozefzoon 66), Vibe (Woods 66), McEachran (Field 77), Jota (Dalsgaard 66).

Goals: Vibe 40, Clarke 82