Koeman calls for Premier League clubs to protect English managers

Southampton manager Ronald Koeman stated English managers in the Premier League must be protected, as his side prepare to host Bournemouth on Sunday.

Koeman will face Eddie Howe - one of just five English coaches in the top flight - with Sunderland's Sam Allardyce, Crystal Palace's Alan Pardew, Newcastle United's Steve McClaren and Swansea's Garry Monk the only other Englishman working in the league.

But while Koeman questioned the minority of locals in the dugout, the Dutchman believes the lure of the Premier League amongst foreigners to see home-grown talent further marginalised.

"I think it's always important to have some foreign managers here because maybe they will bring some new ideas into the game," he told reporters before the match.

"It's also important to protect the English managers, but in the end it's up to the club to make that decision.

"Maybe it's because there's a European influence in the Premier League, for players and for managers. In my situation it was because of a lot of attention to the Premier League and the FA Cup final when I was a young kid.

"There is always spirit and intensity in the games, and that makes it nice to watch English football. There are also big clubs and that was the reason I was interested to be a manager for an English club team.

"Maybe he [Howe] is one of the future managers because I understand he is still young, and he is doing a great job, managing a club and bringing them to the Premier League was an amazing result for them.

"But like everywhere it's up to the chairmen of the clubs, to the owners of the club, what they think."

Koeman took over at Southampton from current Tottenham Hotspurs boss Mauricio Pochettino last summer, guiding the Saints to a seventh-placed finish during his first season in charge.