Dan Seaborne has defended Southampton Chairman Nicola Cortese, following his decision to sack Nigel Adkins on Friday.
The defender, who is on-loan at Bournemouth, speaks from personal experience with Cortese, labelling him as “a very, very good man.”
The Italian banker has been at the helm at St. Mary’s since 2009, after conducting a deal to buy the club for the late Markus Liebherr.
During that time, Nigel Adkins guided Southampton from 22nd in League One to 15th in the Premier League, a meteoric rise of 51 places.
But despite his public image, Seaborne has nothing but praise for Cortese.
“He’s a businessman, but a tough businessman. From my experiences he’s always been very good with me, I’ve got a good relationship with him and I’ve got nothing but respect for him,” Seaborne told TIBS News.
“He’s in charge of the football club and he wants to take it forward. Decisions in the past have served us well – when he let Pardew go, Adkins came in and did very good things.
“I’m sure he has his reasons behind everything, but it will be for the best of the football club.”
The defender also told how his relationship with Cortese grew following the Chairman’s support to him after he suffered serious head injuries in a nightclub attack in September 2011.
The 25-year-old said: “My personal experience with the chairman is fantastic, (he’s) a very, very good man.
“He came and visited me in hospital and he was fantastic throughout that period.
“I’ve met him a few times and spoke to him a lot on the phone and he was very good.
“For all his bad press, he’s at the forefront of what Southampton are trying to do at the moment.”
Seaborne also took time to praise ex-manager Adkins, but admits football can be a harsh business.
He added: “He’s done well at the club but there’s always been speculation surrounding him so I don’t think it was a massive, massive surprise to us, but you can’t take anything away from him – he did very, very well.”
Mauricio Pochettino was appointed as new first team manager on Friday, and although Seaborne is yet to meet the Argentine, he has heard good things from the current squad.
He commented: “I haven’t actually spoke to him myself, but from what I hear he’s very good and very intent on playing good football, so we’ll see what the future holds, but it’s an exciting prospect for the club.
“I’ve spoken to Kelvin and a few of the others and they’re really excited and seem to like his ways and methods.”
The Bournemouth loanee also sees a positive future for Southampton, with the training ground developments nearing completion.
“The training ground is going to be top, top level and the youth setup is producing better and better players year on year,” Seaborne told.
“It’s exciting times for the football club and that’s also down to Nicola.
“He’s had his voice and opinion on that so it’s all going forward – I think the future’s bright.”
Southampton are next in action when they travel to Old Trafford to take on Manchester United in the Premier League on Wednesday.
By Harry Hunt
@HRH1_
This picture was provided by Ingy The Wingy
