By Nathan Jones's own admission the elephant in the room was that he was not the biggest name Southampton could have picked as Ralph Hasenhuttl’s successor and they have taken a ‘calculated gamble’ in appointing him.
That might put him on the back foot with both supporters and players to start with but he is no stranger to being an underdog.
‘I’m excited about changing opinion or reversing a negative trend,’ he said. ‘That’s what I’ve had to do in my career because I’ve always kind of been an underdog.
‘The fact that a skinny, rat-faced Welsh boy is managing in the Premier League, that’s pretty much of a good story.