SAINTS have decided against bringing in former Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini as Ronald Koeman’s replacement.

The Daily Echo understands that despite Pellegrini being considered a big favourite for the role for some time, the club have made the decision that he is not the man to take the reins at St Mary’s after extensive talks.

The same goes for German icon and USA boss Jurgen Klinsmann, who has appeared as the bookies’ favourite over the past 48 hours.

Any reported interest in Klinsmann, the former Germany and Bayern Munich boss, is said to be wide of the mark.

In fact, Klinsmann is understood to have not even been on the list of candidates.

Saints still plan to bring in a new manager before July 4, but Pellegrini won't be the man for the vacant role.

The Chilean, who led City to the Premier League title and two League Cup triumphs  during his three-season stay, had been on the club's shortlist for some time, and there was a feeling among supporters that perhaps he would be a good fit for Saints.

However, much like the situation with ex-Roma boss Rudi Garcia, Saints did their research and felt that he was not ideal.

Saints' executive director of football Les Reed and the club's board have been investigating each candidate thoroughly as they try and find the right man to lead Saints into the Europa League group stages next term.

As has been reported by the Daily Echo, Saints will continue to speak to contenders for the job and plan to appoint the new man before the squad arrive back for pre-season training a week Monday.

Frenchman Claude Puel is believed to still feature on the club's shortlist for the job.

The former Nice boss has been on Saints' shortlist since last weekend, where he was joined by Pellegrini and Vitor Pereira of Fenerbahce.

Pereira had seemingly dropped off the radar this week after he was quoted in the Turkish press saying that his links to Saints were “not true”.

But despite those reports he is still said to be on the club’s shortlist.

Meanwhile Pellegrini was understood to be under consideration by the club, but after doing their due diligence they decided that he did not represent an ideal fit.

Saints are looking for a manager that fits in with their ethos, with the club's famed academy and style of play high on the agenda as they sort through who is the best man for the job.