When Saints announced their retained list one notable absence was Adam Lallana, however the whisper is that he will not be leaving St Mary's but will be offered a role on the coaching staff.

It is fair to say that the return of Adam Lallana split Saints supporters, the majority were willing to let bygones be bygones, but some were not willing to forgive & forget and still felt that the method of his departure in 2014 left a sour taste in the mouth.

When he departed for Liverpool, it hurt, several other fan favourites also left in that summer, but not hurt like Lallana, he was the one who the fans truly loved as one of their own, yes perhaps Rickie Lambert was a popular as Lallana, but he was coming to the end of his career and returning to his boyhood club, whereas Lallana was leaving at the height of his.

The Daily Echo has paid tribute to Lallana and at the end of it they give a glimpse of what may be next in store for the player.

Lallana of course spent the final part of the season, not in contention for a place on the pitch, but in the dug out assisting Simon Rusk and that perhaps gave the pointer that he is willing to call time on an illustrious career, one that saw him play 474 League games, with almost half of them, 235 to be exact in the colours of Southampton.

The Echo article pays tribute to him as a player, revealing that he actually was in talks to rejoin the club in 2020 when he left Anfield, but then manager Ralph Hasenhuttl was not keen on the deal, but pointedly it also highlights his work behind the scenes at St Mary's in the last year stating.

"Lallana immediately got to putting an arm around Tyler Dibling, taking personal responsibility for the development of the club's starlet.

"He speaks to us every day, helps us, and if we’re doing something wrong he puts us in line. He’s the perfect role model," said 19 year old Dibling.

"He’s lived what I want to live and he can give me tips on the way to make it. He’s very demanding, but it’s good because that’s what you need."

Jack Stephens had this to say about him.

"All season, Ads has been, while officially a player, not necessarily taking sessions but coaching individual players.

"He got as much experience as he could out of his stature as well. It's been really good for me as a captain to bounce ideas off of him."

If ever an article was written by a local newspaper with the blessing and co-operation of the club, then this is the one, clearly the scene is being set for the potential announcement that Adam Lallana will retire as a player but stay at the club in some capacity.

It gushes with praise for his playing career at St Mary's both in his first spell and last season, it talks of his work in mentoring young players and emphasises that with a quote from the club Captain and it gives a not so subtle hint at the end saying:

"Lallana knows opinions on him will always be split around these parts and he hoped he could repay any fan who felt let down, but it was not to be.

"With the pedigree he has established in football, Lallana can dictate his future and will not be short of offers to work in dugouts across the country.

"Saints would like to keep him around and with his son, Arthur, moving into the club's under-13s team, that should tug on his heart strings more.

"Lallana was a vital part of Southampton's rise from League One to Europe, but could not save them this time. Football is not always fairytales."

The groundwork is being very firmly laid and from this perspective it is positive, Southampton FC's PR department has been conspicuous by it's absence in keeping fans up to date for a while now, but now it seems they have woken up to the fact that the supporters should be kept informed about what is going on around the club, use the local media, rather than just putting out bland fact only stories on the club website.

Nip potential unrest in the bud, point out the positives and not the negatives.

So although it is not yet certain that Adam Lallana will still (yes i know lol) be on the coaching staff at St Mary's next season after his job as coach in the final weeks of last, it seems that it is going to happen soon.

All Photos Via Reuters

highfield49 added 11:11 - Jun 10 I can't see any reason not to have him on the coaching staff, particularly if he's a mentor to Dibling and we get to keep Tyler for a another season at least.
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Bowlercow added 11:44 - Jun 10 The danger is that he will encourage good youngsters to leave for his beloved Liverpool who he supported a a kid whilst being photographed in an Everton shirt
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underweststand added 16:38 - Jun 10 IF TRUE?..why wait until Monday morning. Get it done. ASAP. A player who played for England, and won about everything that his generation can offer. YES.. it was with Liverpool (for those who still anger at his departure) but he would have got no further without the obvious move to a club who were capable of winning things. A quick viewing of his CV should convince anyone. A player who spent half of his playing career with Saints and helped them survive on several occasions and doesn't need much convincing of how nice it is to live on the South Coast. What's to think about. If nothing else our fledgling managerial / coaching staff will need all the help they can get.

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