Matt Le Tissier reveals first change he will push to Southampton’s players in new EFL role

Matt Le Tissier plans to encourage more shots from outside the box after returning to Southampton.

The former midfielder is back at his former club after landing a new role at St. Mary’s.

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Le Tissier has returned to the Saints as an advisor to the board four years after his previous spell.

The 57-year-old had stepped down as a club ambassador back in 2022.

However, he has now made a comeback on a consultancy basis at the Championship side.

Le Tissier’s new role

Le Tissier joined talkSPORT Breakfast on Tuesday to lift the lid on his new role.

Speaking to Jeff Stelling and Ally McCoist, he explained: “It’s really lovely to be back employed by the club again on a consultancy basis, which is brilliant.

“They’re using my experience that I’ve had down the years and I’m really looking forward to being involved on a more permanent basis.

“It’s a club that’s obviously meant a huge amount to me throughout my life. 17 years of my playing career were spent entirely there.

“It’s always somewhere that I’ve taken a massive interest in and followed very closely.

“Sometimes too closely when I should’ve been watching other games on Soccer Saturday, but I think you can forgive me for that.”

Le Tissier scored 209 goals in 462 appearances for Southampton between 1985 and 2002.

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He is also the club’s highest scorer in Premier League history having become the first midfielder to score 100 goals in the competition.

Players must ‘take chances’ – Le Tissier

As part of his new role, Le Tissier is ready to pass on his experience to the current crop of players at St. Mary’s.

Amongst his plans, he wants to encourage more shots from outside the box when Tonda Eckert’s side are going forward.

When asked by McCoist if there are enough shots from distance in modern football, Le Tissier admitted: “That’s a very good point, Ally.

“Actually, it’s one of the things that I want to encourage in the Southampton squad because I think that’s one of the things that we don’t do enough in our football team.

“We get a lot of good possession in the final third and a lot of the time the centre midfielders find themselves with the ball at their feet 25, 30 yards out and with a lot of space.

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“If I’m in that position, my first thought was, ‘can I just get the ball out my feet and have a shot?’

“As we saw with the goal at the weekend, even if you don’t think you’re going to score, you never know.

“If you don’t buy a ticket, you never win the lottery and you never know what happens with these shots. A little deflection and anything can happen.

“You’ve got to take chances. If you want to score goals, you’ve got to take chances and that’s one of the things that I’ll be encouraging.”

Southampton are currently enjoying a 14-match unbeaten run in the Championship as they eye an immediate return to the top-flight.

It follows their second relegation from the Premier League in three seasons last term.

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The Saints are fifth in the table ahead of Tuesday night’s home match against Blackburn Rovers.

Having not lost in the league since January, Southampton are five points clear of seventh place and six adrift of the top two.