Ronald Koeman: Southampton name Dutchman as new manager

Defender Koeman scored 14 goals in 78 appearances for the Netherlands

Southampton have appointed Ronald Koeman as their new manager.

The former Netherlands international has agreed a three-year deal to replace Mauricio Pochettino who took over at Tottenham last month.

Koeman, 51, resigned from his job at Feyenoord in May after guiding the club to second place in the Eredivisie.

"Southampton have a talented first-team squad, a world-class academy and the infrastructure to sustain success in the Premier League," he said.

Ronald Koeman will be joined at Southampton by his brother Erwin and Jan Kluitenberg

"From my very first meeting with executive director Les Reed, I could see clearly that this was the right club for me. We share the same philosophy of football and the same belief in how to develop the club.

"The opportunity to continue the development of this famous football club was simply too good to turn down. I cannot wait to get started."

His brother, Erwin, has been appointed as assistant after he left his coaching role at Dutch club RKC Waalwijk.

The pair will be joined by Jan Kluitenberg, who takes up the role of assistant first team coach/physical coach. Kluitenberg worked with Koeman at Vitesse Arnhem, Benfica, AZ Alkmaar and Feyenoord.

The trio will be assisted by Southampton's existing first-team support staff, while the club will be recruiting a high-level goalkeeping coach in the near future.

Koeman already has a list of players he would like to bring to St Mary's, with BBC Radio Solent reporting Feyenoord midfielder Lex Immers, 28, as his top transfer target.

However, keeping players at the club will be one of his immediate challenges, with England pair Luke Shaw and Adam Lallana the subject of interest elsewhere.

The search for Southampton's new manager was led by Reed, who hailed the arrival of the Dutchman.

"We are extremely pleased to have secured a new manager of Ronald Koeman's calibre and status within the game," said Reed.

"From the moment we met with Ronald, it was clear he had the vision and ambition to take our club forward, that he shared our football philosophy and could see the opportunity to move our club to the next level.

"The club, the players and the fans will all be excited to have a man of Ronald's experience at the very highest level joining our club."

Koeman will discover his first opponents in English football on Wednesday, when the 2014-15 Premier League fixtures are released.

His honours as a player include winning the 1988 European Championship with the Dutch national team, the European Cup - now the Champions League - with PSV Eindhoven in 1988 and Barcelona in 1992 as well as domestic league titles in the Netherlands and Spain.

He played 763 games for club and country, scoring 253 goals, including the winner for Barcelona against Sampdoria in the 1992 European Cup final at Wembley.

His managerial career has taken in spells at Vitesse, Ajax, Benfica, PSV, Valencia and AZ Alkmaar, before he joined Feyenoord in July 2011.