EVERY word Saints technical director Johannes Spors said on his leadership of the club in a lengthy interview with the Daily Echo earlier this month.

What does group technical director mean and what are your responsibilities? 

JS: I'm ultimately responsible for every football related decision. I decided not to have it or to focus on the technical part because we have Mark Bitcon who is doing the medical team, the performance, the operational side.

I think it is valuable if not the same person does both parts really because I also have a little bit more than just the technical side here.

Because it's the multi-club structure where I have the same responsibility in the other clubs with a very, very, very clear focus on Southampton.

But still, it is some extra workload. And I think it makes sense that everybody is really in the expertise. That's why I thought that's the right thing to do.

When it comes down to big decisions like signings and managers - that's you?

JS: That's ultimately my decision, but it's the way I come to these decisions and I think that was very important from the very beginning.

I always speak to ownership and I'm really convinced of that because I did that in many different countries and cultures.

Every culture has a different way to come to a decision. I think the best way is that I take this responsibility 100 per cent.

I integrate all the internal stakeholders that we have as much as I can. That is the manager. Of course, you ask about players.

I mean, of course, I don't sign a player against his wish. I never really understand that conflict because it just makes no sense.

But I'm the expert for this and he's the expert for coaching the team. So it's two different jobs. This includes the ownership.

It includes scouting and recruitment. It includes Phil Parsons as the CEO who signs off all the budget. And of course, they will be under my umbrella, I would say, a bit. But again, I'm here to take decisions and responsibility.

How do you go from a match analyst to global director in 20 years?

JS: Honestly, I think I was lucky that I've never been a football player. Nobody in my family is football-related.

I think I was fortunate that I had to do my own living. I had to earn money. I'm not coming from a very rich background.

So I had to work to pay during my studies. And because I studied sports science and political science, and I finished both, I tried to earn my money with jobs that I like.

I also did jobs I didn't like, working at a gas station or whatever, but when there was something with football, I did it. I started to work for Hoffenheim.

Just filming games, I got €12 an hour for that and I was lucky that this club had just changed the manager. Imagine, from Hansi Flick to Ralf Rangnick.

It was a club even in Germany nobody knew. It was a lower division team. And then I worked there, and Ralf Rangnick came.

I was not only filming the games, because they had five employees and promoted. I could do analytics, which was the big thing in 2006.

It was super innovative. And that was a big story. And the club was small, and I was sitting in the same office with the most relevant people.

Then I stayed nine years and made my way up in that club from analyst to head of analytics. I had my own team.

I was an assistant coach for five years doing pre-match, post-match, half-time analytics. Then I was responsible for the scouting as well in parallel.

Then I felt after nine or ten years that I had learned everything in that club that I could. And then I wanted to make a step, and I went to Red Bull, which was great.

Again, we got this team promoted from second division to first Bundesliga to Champions League. And then I felt that I was always driven for more responsibility and more decision-making power.

So I felt I had to go in the direction of being the number one. And that's why I went first to Hamburg to see a traditional football club environment.

Red Bull and Hoffenheim are both not normal German football clubs, because they're outside of 50 plus one and their ownership rules.

I went to Hamburg in this very traditional environment. Then it was time to step up, right? And then I was looking and went to the Netherlands.

At Vitesse Arnhem as a sporting director for the first time, it was a perfect step because the club was not too big as a first job, but big enough. It's a big, renowned club.

Now they struggle after they had an ownership change, but in my time, it was the oldest club in the country.

I was the first German ever to go as a sporting director to the Netherlands and we brought the club to the best two years in the club's history.

We went to the cup final, we played Europe, we won against Tottenham Hotspur. It was a really good time.

As it is in football, you get headhunted and then I went to the Italian Serie A, to Genoa. Again, I was the first German ever to go to Italy then.

And another, the oldest football club in Italy. So I have this very often. I worked for Genoa and then the ownership started to buy all these other football clubs.

But I was really into Genoa, that was my main focus. But then I did on top all the other clubs as well. And then one day I had to decide to go out of Genoa and take care of everything.

Is it similar here in that you are really in here at Southampton?

JS: Yeah, that's a really big difference. I'm really here. While in the old multi-club, in the beginning, I was really in Genoa.

But then I was out and responsible for everything in parallel. Here, I'm really in Southampton and connect Southampton with the other clubs.

But with a clear focus on Southampton, while in my previous job, I had to manage every club to the best version.

We have been very successful with three promotions in less than two years and the player training worked pretty well. So it was a great time.

What conversations have you had with Phil Parsons, Mark Bitcon, and the others?

JS: Everybody, of course. Nearly every day. I think communication is absolutely key. I think I'm really here to bring in a structure, to bring the vision into execution.

We need a clear structure, a meeting structure, a communication structure. This can drive every single department to the best version.

It can bring us the results that we need. I'm a very communicative guy. It's important also for me to hear everybody.

What recruitment is going to happen this summer, what transfers can you make? 

JS: I think we can do a lot and we have to do a lot. If you just look at the pure size of our squad, when everybody stays and everybody comes back from loans.

We have roughly 40 players, really first-team players under contract, even more. So that means there will be a lot of decisions.

And then, we also have to rebuild the squad. But I always think that squad planning is a complicated picture with a lot of perspectives.

You need different angles and we need a lot of different pieces in that. It’s experience, it’s youth, it’s talent, and the right characteristics for the style of play.

That’s why it’s difficult to see the final picture now. Because it’s a long way to go. But we will be very, very active, and I’m really looking forward to that.

I think that’s the time we can really change something. I arrived here early for this window to be prepared, have structure in place, and know everything so that we can execute in that window.

Do you have to wait to sell some players before you can buy new ones?

JS: Look, we will have to see. There are a couple of decisions that we have to wait for, obviously. Also, we have to wait for how the market reacts.

There is this window now because of the Club World Cup coming earlier. We can act, we can.

Of course, as every football club in the world, we are also dependent on revenues. But in that sense, we are very comfortable and can look positive into the window.

Then let’s see how the market reacts, what can be done quickly, what takes longer. But we have time. We have time until September.

Do you want to keep this squad together, is it a good Championship squad?

JS: Obviously, there are going to be some players that leave. But that core is sort of the same. I think we have to find the right balance.

Absolutely, yes, a couple of players have to stay because they are important. Other players are here maybe a little bit too long or want to leave.

This is okay. We can make different decisions. But we will not allow everybody to leave just because they want to leave. We also need the right profiles for the Championship.

I have not worked in the Championship. I follow this competition very closely for a couple of years. We have a lot of employees here that know the competition very well.

I’m fully aware of the difficulties and the different approach we are facing. In my previous job, I got Genoa promoted from the second division to the first.

I got Vasco da Gama promoted from the second division to the first. I got Red Star Paris promoted from the third division to the second.

I was involved in the Red Bull promotion. A couple of things are very comparable in terms of second division to first division.

The more physical approach, the more dominance of long balls, the importance of set pieces. There are a couple of things that you can compare.

Obviously, this 24-team competition makes it quite special. That can have an effect on the size of the squad in our favour because we already have a lot of players.

You cannot go with 15 players into a Championship season. I’m really looking forward to it. I think it would be wrong to say we keep everything or we change everything.

It needs to be the right mix. That’s exactly what I’m observing in these weeks to understand who is the right one to fight for the next goal that we have next season.

To state the obvious, the goal next season is immediate promotion?

JS: 100 per cent. Nothing else.

Do you want to change the scouting team here, will you hire your own?

JS: I’m very experienced with that. I don’t want to speak too much about the past because I think they did a couple of good things.

The last couple of things didn’t work out. It’s very normal that in the beginning I make it very clear to the scouting and recruitment how I want this department to work.

It’s an adaptation process. Again, I’ve worked in so many different countries and cultures. I know I also have to adapt to culture, but they have to adapt more to me, honestly.

I am, at the moment, making sure that we go in the right direction there. It is a very important department. I’m evaluating and we will also make a couple of decisions in that area.

Have you made a decision on the manager ahead of next season?

JS: Before I come to this, it is important that I know the market of managers. No manager in the world would be against it.

It is important that ownership knows good sporting directors. This is nothing against me or Mark or someone else.

I am, of course, following the global market of talent in general. Bringing talent to this football club is absolutely crucial. On the pitch, off the pitch.

When I say off the pitch, I don’t mean just one head coach. I mean talent in the scouting, in the recruitment, in the analytics. We want people that want to grow.

We need this energy of development. This is a football club that can allow development, but we also have to make sure that we have development.

You cannot develop players when you don’t have the environment that wants to grow as well. I see a lot of people here are very driven and motivated to grow and to develop.

That also means that I’m always looking for talent. Even my job as a head of recruitment some years ago was never only to find talented players.

It was also always to find coaches for the academy. Some that could grow, some are on the top level now.

My former assistant the last years is now a sporting director in Kaiserslautern. This is what makes me really happy.

If someone works close with me, I can help him to make a next step and he is successful. Hopefully, he will be better than I am.

This is what really motivates me. I want to make people better. Coming back to the coach, there is not a 100 percent precise answer.

I know Ivan Juric for a very long time. Not that we worked together or had a relationship before we met here. He worked in Italy and I was in Italy.

I was always very impressed by the achievements that he had. He really stabilised difficult environments, especially defensively.

He made sure that his clubs not only stabilised but also grew again. It’s not a secret and he is the first one to say this to you when you interview him…

He is not satisfied that this development is not visible here yet. I’m here to observe this, of course. I’m here to help him wherever I can.

That’s the situation where we are at the moment. The manager at the moment is Ivan and will be Ivan. There is no other decision taken.

Is it still easy to plan for next season in terms of players and profiles that you need?

JS: At this stage of the season, you are preparing. You set the structure. You collect ideas. We will not sign new players this or next week.

There is no window. Even if that's not the right moment, it's about preparing. Plannings for the next season are absolutely ongoing and going in a good direction.

What is your style of play going to be here at Saints? 

JS: I think the style of play, the direction in the style of play we go now is a good fit for this football club. This is absolutely not to blame Russell Martin.

I have huge respect. I have never met him, but I have great respect for what he has done. He is very driven by his idea. Again, it’s very respectable.

But this, let’s say, very intense style of football is something that really fits here. This leads to scouting processes that I think players need to be physically strong.

They need to be fast, need to have some aggressivity in their mentality. If you just give these headlines to scouting, then that’s already quite a clear profile.

Then we go much more into detail, of course, with our data analytics and with the traditional scouting and everything.

But we should not change the style of play very often. Most important is that when you do it, it’s an active decision. And that’s what happened here.

I mean, it was not my decision. It was before my time, quite long before my time. But from what I have understood in the conversation, this was exactly what was wanted.

And then it’s good, because what happens often is that clubs change a manager in the past and they just, without really defining what style of play they want to have.

Do you need to sign more experienced players for a young squad? 

JS: Look, they all get older. They have experience now from a Premier League season. If you look back two years ago when they started the championship campaign, that’s two years later.

So players who have arrived there are now really experienced, even though they were maybe young. In general, I don’t make the differentiation between young and old so much.

I really want young players. I want young squads in the right balance. I’m 100 percent aware of leadership, of managing dressing rooms, of the right amount of peak-age players that are able to perform on the level where you are.

It’s very important. But talent is also very important for several reasons. The main reason is what I described earlier a little bit. We need this energy of growth, of development. Players who fight for their next step.

We have to set the environment that they can grow. If you don’t have enough players that want to grow, the best environment doesn’t help. So that’s why the squad needs to be younger.

There is another very practical thing. We go into the Championship and we play every couple of days. Regeneration is very important.

So you can either manage that with the size of the squad that you just use many players, but you can also make sure that you have players that regenerate very fast. Not that older players can’t. They absolutely can.

But it’s a bit easier the younger they are. The third aspect is that this whole business is a business. The whole football thing is a business.

We are also here to make sure that we develop assets. We want to develop players as persons, as human beings. But it’s also a business. We have to work on that.

Is it essential for a club the size of Saints to be able to turn profits on players?

JS: I think it is essential. I don’t want to give the impression that we are doing this here as a business model. We are doing this here as a football club.

But both go in the same direction. I think this club can only be very successful if you have development and growth for revenues.

The best thing that can happen for us is that we develop players and are at least average successful. Average is a bad word, but being average in the Premier League is extremely good.

Next season maybe average is not good enough, but to be successful and develop young players is the best situation we can have because then we can decide if we want to use the revenues or keep the quality of the players.

I am pretty sure in the future we will decide that quite often we want to keep the quality of the player. But it gives us possibility. It gives the ownership the possibility. And that is what I want to create.

How important is it to bring players through the academy and not just recruit them?

JS: I think people don't speak enough about a very successful academy at the moment. They have great results on the pitch. They develop good talents.

This is crucial, and it is also part of my job to make sure that we have pathways ready. And coming back to the size of the senior squad.

If our academy kid is the number five on this position it makes a big difference than if he is the number two or three on this position.

I have to make sure that he is the number two or three on this position. Then he gets minutes because this is crucial for the development here.

Did you agree with decisions to sell Jayden Meghoma and Sam Amo-Ameyaw?

JS: It was a decision that was taken so I respect it. If you ask me now, I would prefer to see them playing with our jersey and then selling a little bit later.

If you just see the pure result of a player was transferred, there is always a reason behind. There is a contract behind that is maybe not extended.

There is a person, a human being that maybe didn't fit 100 per cent into the environment. All these considerations. I am not saying it was that case.

Is it a case of sell them to fund the development of the next one?

JS: That’s true, but not to forget that if the player plays for us, he also creates a value. It’s not like you don’t see it on your bank account.

It's not a £10million transfer. You have to think about how you model that into your P&L. And that’s exactly what I mean with we want to develop players to the right level.

Because it must be ultimately our decision. Do we want to keep the player and let him grow even higher? Or do we use the moment for everything?

Of course, the best-case moment for us is always when a player develops faster than the football club and then you let him go automatically to a top five Premier League club because we are not.

Then it’s easy to understand. It’s a bit harder when you lose a talent to a level that is not so far away from your own level.

How much of your job is contracts, do you want to keep Kyle Walker-Peters?

JS: I look into these contracts now of course. It's not so many players that are really running out of contracts this year, next year.

Contract management in general is an important part. Find the right moment, also show appreciation and respect. That's a vital part.

Have you spoken to Walker-Peters about his expiring contract at all?

JS: I don't want to speak too much about what we are doing there really.

In general, honestly, I try to speak to everybody at the moment. It's more like an introduction and then we see what we are doing as a next step.

How much will relegation harm your chances of keeping such players?

JS: Relegation is nothing that anybody here wants. I’m a very pragmatic person, mostly that’s the situation and we have to make the best of it.

And if that means we maybe have to sell a player more than I would love to, then that’s the case. Then we have to make sure we get the right price.

Then we have an opportunity to invest in general. I think it can be a good situation that we are able to change things for the future, and that’s not a bad thing.

Are there any benefits to being in Sport Republic's multi-club model?

JS: I think this model can be a huge benefit for football clubs. I think people maybe don’t really see the benefits of it yet.

This has a lot of upsides, including player pathways. Nothing else really helps develop a player like the right level of competition at the right moment.

If the competition is easy, the player doesn’t develop. If the competition is hard, he doesn’t develop. Minutes at the right level are absolutely crucial.

The model here, with the under-21s not really being under-21s - it’s more like an under-19 competition - it creates a huge gap in competition.

Some players, like Tyler Dibling, can jump over that, but not everybody can. You need to have something for them and that’s where multi-club can help.

I want to sit here in a couple of years and see that people recognise how helpful this model has been for the club, for Southampton.

I’ve done this with seven clubs in the last years and already experienced what great energy can develop when you put expertise together.

If you create an environment of different perspectives and experts in a friendly setting, this is something you can never recreate in a conference.