Will Still reveals what he struggled with at Southampton before he 'ran out of time' | OneFootball

Former Southampton manager Will Still has opened up on why he believes his spell in charge at St Mary's did not work out.

It is fair to say it did not work out for Will Still during his brief spell as Southampton manager earlier this season.

Still was regarded as one of the most highly-rated managers in Europe after strong stints in France with Reims and Lens, and it was seen as a coup for Southampton when he took over at St Mary's in May following the club's relegation from the Premier League.

After a busy summer transfer window that saw the likes of Caspar Jander, Finn Azaz, Tom Fellows and Leo Scienza arrive on the South Coast, the Saints began the season as one of the promotion favourites in the Championship, but they failed to live up to that billing under Still.

Still won just four of his 16 games in charge of Southampton, drawing six and losing six, before being sacked in early November following a five-game winless run that left his side sitting just above the relegation zone.

Tonda Eckert initially replaced Still on an interim basis before being handed the permanent job the following month after winning four of his five games as caretaker, and the Saints have continued to surge up the table under the 33-year-old.

With their play-off place already secured, Southampton will be hoping to seal an immediate return to the top flight over the coming weeks, while Eckert also guided them to the semi-final of the FA Cup, where they were beaten 2-1 by Manchester City at Wembley on Saturday.

Will Still issues interesting explanation for failed Southampton spell

As his former club continue their promotion push, Still appeared on The Overlap Breakdown this week to reflect on his time at Southampton, and he claimed that his struggle with the English language was one of the main reasons behind his disappointing spell at St Mary's.

While Still is a fluent speaker of English, he was born in Belgium and went to a French language school, while he spent much of his career in Europe prior to taking charge of the Saints, and he admitted that he experienced some communication problems with his players and the media.

"The one thing that I think I struggled with was the language," Still said.

"I know it sounds stupid because you listen to me now and I'm fluent in English, and probably to other people, I am English.

"I was brought up at home in English, we spoke English at home, but the English language that we used is very family-based.

"I've never been in a situation where I've had to talk to the press or I've had to talk to a group of young men, just because I've never been exposed to that.

"So it was my first experience, and I almost felt like a foreigner walking into that environment.

"I didn't bring any members of staff with me, I had Paul Trollope and Adam Lallana, who were brilliant when I was there, but I was building relationships with them, I was building relationships with the players and I was building relationships with the board.

"There's just such a massive difference culturally in the style of football, the way a team is managed, the way other players behave, the way training is set up, and I was kind of on an accelerated top-up course.

"Ultimately, I just ran out of time."

Will Still deserves another Championship opportunity despite Southampton struggles

After his success in France, Still looked to be an exciting appointment for Southampton, and while he struggled to get his message across to his squad at times, he may still be wondering why it went so wrong for him at St Mary's.

In fairness to Still, the Saints' performances under his guidance arguably deserved significantly more points, but football is a results business, and as the 33-year-old himself acknowledges, he was given more than enough time to turn his side's fortunes around.

Still's time at Southampton will no doubt have been a big learning curve for him, and while he would be a risky appointment for another Championship club, the potential he showed in France suggests he could be a gamble worth taking.