SAINTS boss Ruben Selles has explained how his relationship with his players has been affected by his rise from coach to manager, insisting that his demeanor with the squad has remained the same.

“I didn’t have to change the way I am with the players,” he told club media. “That’s the big thing. You are the person you are – it doesn’t matter which role you occupy. You need to be the same person.

“Yes, my responsibilities are different right now, but I didn’t think I need any kind of approach with the players – I just need to communicate and make decisions that before I didn’t need to make, but I do it in the same way.

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“If somebody feels that it is a little bit different, or there is more distance, then it’s not on me, because I just feel that I am doing exactly the same. But of course, when you need to make decisions, it can put some distance with some people.”

It’s been a whirlwind year for the 39-year-old Spaniard who joined Saints in the summer to work under Ralph Hasenhuttl. 

He remained part of Nathan Jones’s coaching staff following Hasenhuttl’s sacking but when the former Luton boss was relieved of his duties after just eight league games, Saints went in search of a new leader.

Jesse Marsch was seemingly the number one candidate but when talks with the American fell through, Saints gave the job to Selles initially on an interim basis. And following a statement victory at Stamford Bridge, Selles’s interim title was removed.

Saints have now collected eight points from Selles’s six games in charge including a crucial victory against Leicester City and a point away at Manchester United.

Daily Echo: Selles celebrates with his players after victory at Stamford Bridge.Selles celebrates with his players after victory at Stamford Bridge. (Image: PA)

Just before the international break, Saints rallied from two goals down to snatch a potentially seismic point against Spurs and Selles feels his team are putting the right building blocks in place.

“We have standards, cultural standards, that we need to respect, and that’s what we are working on now,” he explains. “To put it back in the house, in our behaviours, in the way we do things, and then the new players, or the foreign players, need to understand what does it mean.

“If they want to be successful here, they need to find their way into those cultural aspects from us. Of course, in that culture there is open house for everybody, but the principles are always there, and we should not forget.

“I think it’s simple because some of the time there is a grey area with a person coming from one background who understands something different, and I can guide them into the way that leads into a better understanding from one to each other. Does it make sense?” he asks, leaning forward in his seat intently.

“At the end of the day, it is one of the principles of leadership. You will always have different characters – it doesn’t matter if you live in a football club or a big company. You will have different characters and you need to analyse how you get the best of them.

“Our target at the end of the day is to elevate everybody to the next level – it doesn’t matter in which position in the house or which position in the squad they have. When they finish with us, they are a better player, a better person than they were before.

“For that, you need to know them, you need to analyse them and you need to see how they react in different environments. That is not always easy, but this is what we want to do.”