SAINTS have seemingly acted swiftly to appoint Ivan Juric as the successor to Russell Martin. It has taken them less than a week to hire him, which is important.

I wasn't surprised at the news that Russell had moved on. The board had given him more time than most clubs would. When you are bottom of the Premier League, decisions like this will be made.

I am disappointed things didn't work out for him in the Premier League. He delivered one of the best days I've had as a Saints fan at Wembley. I will forever cherish that memory.

Russell will still go on to have a good career in management, but his next steps will be taken away from Southampton.

I must admit I am not that familiar with Juric. Looking at his CV, he has worked at some good clubs, most recently serving as Torino's boss and then Roma.

Like many, I am eagerly anticipating what he can bring to the club. He is said to be coming in with a good defensive record, something that Southampton need.

Last Sunday's 5-0 defeat to Tottenham was unacceptable. I'm glad a new manager has been sorted out quickly because that is always needed in this situation.

Although they do an important job, and I am not trying to diminish their role, interim managers serve as a reminder that the club don't have a fixed manager.

Simon Rusk is Saints interim bossSimon Rusk is Southampton interim boss (Image: PA).Southampton need a new voice in the dressing room otherwise we could become a sinking ship. Juric will have to get his ideas across during a hectic schedule.

Southampton play four times in 16 days. The focus will be to prepare, play and recover. There is not much time for intense training sessions. This is always my favourite time of year for football.

As an apprentice, I remember looking forward to Christmas because you would get a bonus from the professionals you were looking after.

You never knew what the bonus would be. It always varied from player to player. I was always hoping for the Christmas tip.

I saw some amusing bonuses across my years. Sometimes a pro would hand over an envelope of money others would put different amounts under cups and ask you to pick one.

Some of the pros would ask for a little bit more before they handed over the bonus, for example, running around the training pitch in just your shorts.

There was often comical moments around this time of year. Our Christmas party would usually centre around a fancy dress theme.

One year, we rocked up at a local tenpin bowling alley. We ditched the fancy dress that year and went in black tie. Thirty footballers dressed up in suits at a bowling alley was a strange sight.

Fanny Benali at a bowling alley in Southampton.Fanny Benali at a bowling alley in Southampton. As someone who doesn't drink, I wasn't ever one for the grand nights out. I didn't want to do the fancy dress either.

But one year, at the very last minute, I decided to go dressed up as John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever. I was scrambling for an outfit until my wife Karen told me her dad had an old white suit.

I went over to try it on and it fit like a glove, the flares and the wide lapels were perfect for the look. During the party, we crawled through town, going to different pubs.

The weather was horrible. I got soaked in the rain as we walked from pub to pub and ended up getting the flu. 

I should have stuck with my gut and stayed at home with slippers on my feet tucking into a mince pie or two.