Daily Echo:

Mauricio Pellegrino’s first major interview as Saints boss was somewhat overshadowed by the latest twist in the summer transfer saga of Virgil van Dijk, but the Argentinian had plenty of other things to say that will likely be of more consequence to supporters ahead of the new season.

The Daily Echo’s chief sports writer Adam Leitch was invited in to speak with Pellegrino at Staplewood as the new manager laid out his vision for the club.

Here we bring you the best of what he had to say…

Why did you want to take this job?

Because always in my mind I was thinking to train in the Premier League would be for me a nice challenge.

The football is like a long trip if we think about my life starting in a small village – 10,000 people live there – and to be in the Premier League, the football allowed me to be here.

It is not just to adapt to the life on the pitch, but to adapt to other cultures and other languages, and I like when I have to make a big challenge in my life.

Always I think that I am doing everything and it is something to feel alive. This is my first point of view.

The second one is because I love my profession, I like to be on the pitch talking to the players, helping them to be better and teaching them. This is my second point of view.

Football for me is like a vocation. It is not a job. From my childhood I was doing this and just this.

It is something where I am following my dreams.

Do you see Southampton as being similar to your last club, Alaves, in terms of a team trying to punch above their weight?

It is different because more or less we know that the last four seasons Southampton was there increasing the level little by little.

For me we are in the most difficult moment because the first step is to avoid relegation, and the second step more or less is to be in the middle of the middle. The third one would be in the top ten.

The next thing is to be from tenth to sixth and this step is huge. It looks simple but you need a lot of work, a lot of money, a lot of investment, a lot of time. It is not something that is easy to do.

The big teams are pushing between themselves and the second part of the group are different in terms of budget and quality is huge, and for that reason for me we are in a crucial moment for the club.

If we keep this level in the next few years then little by little we increase our level too.

For you to succeed do you have to do better than Claude Puel?

I will succeed if I improve the squad on the pitch in terms of win more games, try to gain more points, and to try to improve the players at individual level, level of connection, the mood that we can create between the players and the fans. This is my main goal.

When I think about myself I want to be a better manager every single day. When I think about my players I want to translate the same, and this is my goal.

In football we never know what will happen at the end.

There is some truth that the biggest team will be there (at the top), but we never know. For example, Leicester won the league and nobody could predict that.

Is it realistic for Southampton to break the top six or is your job about maintaining the recent positions?

We never know, because it’s not about positions, it’s not about numbers or points.

Sometimes you can be sixth with less points, and sometimes you can finish eighth with 60 points.

Last season between eighth and 17th the difference was six points. It’s not huge.

Between Southampton and number 17 and 16 was more or less six points. It’s really close the difference.

The next step, Everton got 15 points more than Southampton. This next step is even more difficult.

For me we have to improve on the pitch. If we improve on the pitch and different levels, defensive level, attacking level, improving set plays, scoring more goals, avoiding the rival creating a lot of chances it will be better on the pitch. That means better results but we have to be focussed on the pitch.

What is your vision for how your Southampton team will play?

The question is for me is always my system is to try to adapt to the players that I have got.

My first question is I have to put the best players on the pitch. This is my first point of view.

I choose 11 players and now I have to put the players in the best position where they will be happy.

My second question is we have to be ambitious because we want to improve, and if we want to improve we have to prepare a team to attack.

If we are playing against a stronger team we have to prepare the team to be stronger in defence and attack too. That means we have to improve in different levels.

The style of football depends in some moments the manager, in some moments the fans, in some moments the players. That means everyone.

It’s easy to say I would like to play attractive football, but I will not promise that. Football is about 22 persons and not 11.

The competition is I am here but I am competing against you with ideas, with preparation, with tactics, with information like me.

If I am stronger than you then maybe I can choose the way I want to play. The problem is when you are not stronger than the other and that is something we have to adapt.

That means we have to continue working because I repeat that to improve in the moment that the team are is a huge step.