HARRY REDKNAPP was swift in his assessment of the Saints team he inherited last December.

Instant surgery was the immediate diagnosis and the managerial surgeon quickly sharpened his scalpel, pointing it in the direction of the spine and left side of his team.

Added quality was the requirement. Yet, despite a hectic month of activity in other areas, it appeared the window would slam shut without the acquisition of added back-up on the left.

But then Redknapp's mobile phone rang. It was Graeme Souness.

The Newcastle boss was making changes to his defence and had decided it was the end for a player who had been the regular Toon left-back for the best part of five years.

Redknapp could hardly believe his luck and he beat off late competition to sign Olivier Bernard just hours before the transfer-window closed.

It was certainly a whirlwind few days, although Bernard remains philosophical about his sudden move to St Mary's.

"Everybody was surprised it ended at Newcastle," he says. "But in football you never know what will happen - it's not a problem.

"I wanted to play and since I arrived here, I think things have gone well for the club so I'm really pleased.

"The manager has brought some good players in. It is totally different here to Newcastle. They are two different pressures.

"In Newcastle there is that pressure you have got to win things, in Southampton we are fighting against relegation."

Bernard went straight into Redknapp's side and his since been an ever-present as his left-sided partnership with Graeme Le Saux has blossomed into one of the key factors in the recent upsurge in form - Saints are unbeaten in five Premiership matches now.

"Graeme is a talented player," says Bernard. "He is a clever player, he talks a lot. He can drop in, he knows his job and that is why he has been successful throughout his career.

"He is a clever man. When I go forward, he knows he has to drop back. Things between us are pretty good, we made one assist each on Sunday."

Although born and raised in Paris, Bernard started his career in Lyon after moving there as a 14-year-old.

"I played in Paris, we played in the youth cup and we lost against Lyon in the final and I played well, so they asked me to sign for them," he remembers.

"It was hard because sometimes I wanted to see my family, but I've always liked travelling since I was young. For me it was a great experience to leave my house. There were about 30 of us all living together and it was good.

"I spent seven years at Lyon, then I went to Newcastle for five years."

Bernard was 20 when Sir Bobby Robson, above, signed him and he admits the move from France to England was tough.

"It was very hard as I couldn't speak English," he says. "It is really hard when you can't speak because people are talking and you can't talk to them. I had some lessons and after six months at the training ground I could understand. Then in maybe a year I could speak."

Having a manager like Robson also clearly made a big difference and there is a warm smile as Bernard ponders the man who turned him from a left-midfielder to a left-back.

"Bobby Robson was a really good man and a lot of people at Newcastle miss him.

"I was left-midfield when I arrived at the club, but he saw in me a left-back. He said I could play left-back and I wasn't sure about it. He said he could teach me and he really taught me the game.

"Now I prefer playing at left-back, I can play midfield to fill the hole if there are injuries, but I really enjoy left-back now.

"I've been playing there for three years and it is automatic for me."

A laid-back and placid character, Bernard has quickly settled in Southampton and there are no plans to move from England.

"There is no way I would want to go back to France, the English league at the moment is one of the best in Europe," he says.

"When you are in a country like England you do not want to leave. I was only 20 when I arrived in England and all my friends are English."

Whether he stays at St Mary's, though, is not certain. His contract had to be short-term and Premiership survival looks necessary to give Saints any chance of keeping him.

Even then, he is likely to have other offers.

For as Harry Redknapp knows only too well, players of Olivier Bernard's quality are not easy to find.