SAINTS have revamped the structure of the younger age groups at the club, introducing a B team in place of the under-23s ahead of the upcoming season.

In what the club have termed a "structural and philosophical overhaul", the move has been done to try and replicate the first-team's training for the club's younger players.

Training will be organised as not to clash with the first-team, allowing boss Ralph Hasenhuttl the chance to watch the youngsters train or participate in the running of the sessions.

The B team will continue to play in Premier League 2 and additional competitions, as the under-23s did, with most home matches moved from Staplewood Campus to AFC Totton, to allow players to have regular experience of a stadium environment.

Chief executive Martin Semmens, director of football operations Matt Crocker and Hasenhüttl have worked together in creating the new approach alongside academy director Matt Hale.

Crocker said: “The club has a really successful player development system that has stood the test of time and helped produce many players up into the first team.

“However, the first-team’s style of play is very different to what it has been previously and there was a real need from talking to both Martin and Ralph that we prepare the players in a different way so that, when they do step up and train or play with the first team, they are doing so with more confidence and a proper understanding of the sessions they are taking part in, as well as the system, tactics and style of play.

“When you are 18 or 19 and maybe only one player away from the first team, it’s really important to have that alignment and clarity of your role, clarity of the team and also of the physical demands required, so they have the toolkit to be successful.

"The under-23s has always been viewed as the pinnacle of the academy, but what we have tried to do here is make it more like a second first-team. It’s not so much about youth development at this stage anymore, it’s about replicating as much as possible a professional environment that prepares players for that step up into the first team."

He added: “This all fits into some of the wider things going on here, like the development of a Southampton Football Club Playbook, which again maps out every position, how we are with the ball and without it, and how we are in those moments of transition, so there is absolute clarity among players and coaches of the work that we do here.

“What we don’t want this to be seen as is a gimmick or a name change. It’s not about what the team is called, it’s about a move to help the young players be better prepared for playing for our club in the Premier League.”

Dave Horseman will continue to lead the B team on matchdays, but there will be a more fluid coaching structure in training, as well as for those who will sit alongside him in games, with Craig Fleming set to play a key role.

Crocker added: “Our nine-to-18s development programme is second to none in the country, but we now have a B team that is aligned much closer to first team, to the point of having the same physical programmes, psychological assessments and so on.”

Saints B team will begin their season at Arsenal on Friday.