Ronald Koeman believes Saints will face a very different Alan Pardew to the one they met earlier this season.

Pardew cut a beleaguered figure as his Newcastle side were hammered 4-0 at St Mary’s in September, but has since left the north east for Crystal Palace.

The Eagles have won three back-to-back games under his guidance and will be looking to make it four as the ex-Saints boss returns to St Mary’s tomorrow for an FA Cup fourth round tie.

Koeman said: “It will be different for the manager, Pardew.

“I think he is more happy with what he is doing now than with what he did before.

“It was a difficult afternoon for him but I think the team now of Crystal Palace is a good team, with a different spirit to what they had maybe two months ago and it’s a new situation, and you can’t compare the game what we had against Newcastle and what we will have this Saturday.”

He added: “They (Palace) have a spirit in the team, the confidence, and they have a great start.

“The first one (win under Pardew) was normally an easy FA Cup round for them but the first victory in the Premier League came against Tottenham Hotspur and that gave everybody the confidence.

“At the moment they are more difficult to beat than at Boxing Day.

“They have new players and a new manager and that means always some changes in tactical or organisation in the team and I think the manager is more happy than he was before, and that’s important.”

Saints will field a strong team for tomorrow’s game, with Koeman insisting he has few other options.

The Saints boss reported that Toby Alderweireld, Morgan Schneiderlin and Victor Wanyama all face about another fortnight on the sidelines, but with Maya Yoshida and Sadio Mane returning from international duty at a similar time he was hopeful of having a full strength squad in three weeks.

For now though, he has to stick with what he has.

Koeman said: “If I have to make a decision before the last game in the league then of course the Premier League is the most important, but I believe in winning, and that’s the best medicine to keep going.

“I am lucky. I don’t have a lot of numbers of players to think about to make changes.

“Still the players who weren’t available in the last week are still not available for this weekend. That means we have 17 or 18 players and of that 17 or 18 players we have already five or six under-21 players.

“There is no time and no reason to think about making changes and we will put out the strongest team we can put.”

Koeman also dismissed reports linking him with a move for striker John Guidetti and said he expects Dani Osvaldo to remain out on loan for the remainder of the season amidst rumours QPR could seek to sign him this month.

 

http://www.yourlocalguardian.co.uk/sport/11745854.Crystal_Palace_boss__Southampton_must_qualify_for_the_Champions_League_for_the_sake_of_the_Premier_League/

http://www.yourlocalguardian.co.uk/sport/11745429.FA_Cup_preview__Something_has_to_give_when_Crystal_Palace_and_Southampton_meet__says_Pardew/