Mauricio Pellegrino is hoping to get one over his friend and former Saints boss Mauricio Pochettino, despite being grateful for some good advice from his ex-international teammate.

Pellegrino spoke with Pochettino before taking the job at Saints, and the now Spurs boss talked positively of his experiences at the club.

Pellegrino decided to make the move to St Mary’s and has enjoyed his time thus far.

“We were teammates in the past as players,” said Pellegrino of Pochettino ahead of Saints’ trip to face Spurs at Wembley today. “Not too many times with the national team but I knew him as a colleague in Spain and with Argentina.

“I am happy with his job, doing really well.

“We were in contact at the beginning of the season and I will see him now and after the game we hope all the best, but after the game.”

He added: “We were talking about the people, he knows them and the culture.

“I also have another friend who knows the club really well, but just we were talking about his experience here, but his experience here most of the players are not here now.

“He was not the last manager, he was the manager four years ago.

“The situation has changed a lot but we talked about his experience and personal things.

“The advice in our job is nice to hear for everybody to try to learn.

“At the end nobody has the truth. It is impossible to give advice to my last club for example because when you change the players, you change the system, you change the players different.

“You can talk about the situation around the club but with the team you have to make your own way to build your own career and this is something that I try to do.”

Pellegrino admires the way Pochettino has taken to English football management and believes he is a model for others to follow.

“Really good because obviously his Southampton team I think just two or three players from this squad, more or less, most of them left the club and changed most of them and now it’s another reality in the club. Different.

“Southampton I am really happy to be here.

“Mauricio always talked well about his experience at this club and allowed him to go to another club in the Premier League and this is something that is really good for everybody and I congratulate him when I saw him for his performance in the Premier League.

“I think he’s doing a really good job, in the position everybody wants to be in the Champions League, competing well, fighting for the top four or five or six and it’s really competitive.

“It’s the goal of every single club, every single manager.”