NATHAN Jones admitted taking the Saints job has caused him to completely change his mind on the 2022 World Cup’s scheduling – he hated it just weeks ago!

Now, the Welshman is given the opportunity to work with his new players for over a month before the pressure of his first home Premier League match.

As a Championship boss, Jones already had a 46-game season to traverse and the six-week pause due to the Qatar tournament had caused further scheduling issues.

But the former Luton Town man can put the time to good use to figure out how best to use a squad that sits second-bottom in the Premier League over a third through the campaign.

“The ironic thing was a week or two ago, I was lambasting the World Cup,” the 49-year-old admitted. 

“I was saying it piles massive pressure on Championship clubs for the fixture schedule and, for everything, it was unfair on players; from what I label some people at FIFA now, they are absolutely geniuses!

“I’m so, so happy that someone has put a World Cup in Qatar in November. It gives me an opportunity to work with them, any opportunity I get to work without just having to go to games.”

Jones added: “It can have either effect because if you win games it can become a catalyst. Right now I will take the fact that I get to work with them.

“I get to be around them, they get to know a lot about me, get to understand how I work, how my staff work, and then to use the good things that are already here.”

Jones, who could be set to take his players on a mini pre-season tour with the likes of Spain touted as the destination, will not be making sweeping changes.

Sport Republic might back him further in the transfer window but, by his own admission, his principal role is to improve what has already been left in place for him.

“I like to win games, I would like to do everything we possibly can to win games,” Jones insisted. “I like to be a front-footed team.

“I would like Southampton to play front-footed football and score goals and win games. We have to do the basics right and make sure we get clean sheets.

“With the greatest respect, they have not done enough of that, but if we can lay a foundation and be hard to beat and then be really productive going forward, that’s a good recipe for getting points and every Premier League point is very difficult.

“So we have to concentrate on getting points week in and week out. If we can do that on a consistent basis then we’ll be in a better position.”

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