Southampton need to strengthen to ensure they cope with their extra games in the Europa League, says Matt Le Tissier.
Arsenal’s victory in the FA Cup final on Saturday means Ronald Koeman’s side qualify for the competition by virtue of finishing seventh in the Premier League.
Midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin has been linked with an exit, as has defender Nathaniel Clyne – for whom they turned down a £10m offer from Liverpool – and former Saints forward Le Tissier believes the more demanding schedule means they must look to bring some new faces in over the summer.
“The squad will need strengthening, first and foremost,” said Le Tissier, speaking to Sky Sports News HQ from the Well Child Ed Chamberlin Classic golf day.
“We’ve seen plenty of examples of where clubs have gone into the Europa League and perhaps their league form has suffered a little bit because of the amount of games they were playing.
“We might lose Morgan Schneiderlin or Nathaniel Clyne, possibly, but if we do we’ve proven in the past we can go out and replace properly.
“I think in Morgan’s case he’s been quoted as saying if a Champions League club came in he’d want to go that way, and you can’t blame the boy for that. But it would be nice if we could keep hold of everyone and challenge for Europe again next season.
“Our top scorer from last season in Jay Rodriguez, we’ll have him as a new signing during the summer – he’ll come back ready for the start of the season so that will be a bonus.
“Then you’re perhaps looking in the centre-back region. If we lose Morgan you’re looking at another holding midfielder in there, and possibly one more centre forward if you’re going to go through a Europa League campaign as well.”
Much was made over the race for the Europa League this season, with some suggesting the likes of Liverpool and Tottenham would have preferred not to be in the tournament so they could concentrate on their league form.
But Le Tissier believes Saints will be delighted to have qualified for Europe and feels Koeman will give it his full attention.
“It might not be good news for the likes of Liverpool and Spurs who might think it’s a bit of a distraction, but for a club like Southampton I think it’s fantastic, the exposure they’re going to get throughout Europe,” he said.
“There are a lot of positives to be taken from it. I think Ronald will take the competition seriously – foreign managers seem to embrace the competition a little bit more than British ones do. I’m looking forward to hopefully a nice long run in it.”