'Perfect transition' - Lambert backs Lallana to 'become an excellent coach'
LEGEND Rickie Lambert has backed Adam Lallana to become "an excellent coach" after his permanent appointment to Southampton's coaching staff.
Lallana, 37, has joined Will Still's backroom team as first-team coach following his playing retirement at the end of the 2024/25 season.
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The academy graduate made nearly 300 appearances for Southampton, returning for an ill-fated campaign before hanging up his boots.
Lambert, who dubbed his former England teammate Lallana "the best player I've played with", thinks the ex-midfielder is making the "perfect transition".
Speaking on BBC Radio Solent, Lambert recalled a meeting dictated by Lallana, which saw Saints turn around their poor Premier League form.
Asked what leadership skills stood out most in his time with Lallana, Lambert explained: 'The determination not to lose and the courage to speak out when needed.
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Adam Lallana (centre left) and Rickie Lambert (far right) celebrate after winning the JPT. 'On more than one occasion during meetings, if there was something that needed to be said, Adam would say it to the manager or one of the lads.
'Many times at halftime, before the manager got to say anything, Adam would be the first one to tell them, clearly, what was wrong and what needed to happen.
'He was always spot on. He had an excellent football brain. There was one moment in particular, going into the Premier League.
'We were struggling to get a point on the board, and we had a meeting. He confronted the coaching staff about the way we were playing.
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'He was very determined, listening to every player who expressed their opinion. It went on for two hours, but it was the best thing that ever happened to us.
'We went out of that meeting with clarity, which we all needed, and then we started to pick up points. That's what he's capable of.'
He added: 'I think he will go on now and become an excellent coach. If you lose the identity of your team, you are in trouble.
Adam Lallana barks instructions at Saints players ahead of a Premier League fixture.'What Southampton had going up the leagues was a core of players who believed in the Southampton way. That was kind of lost.
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'They brought players in, and they were brilliant, but once you keep doing that, you lose the Southampton way. Adam is there now and in a strong position.
'He's one of the main coaches, and he is going to be making it clear that if you join this club, you are joining because you love it.
'He will make sure that each player is giving 100 per cent. Will Still needs players like Ads who have played in the Premier League.
'The way he planned his last couple of years, getting closer to home and then finishing at Southampton, sounded perfect for me.
'He got a little taste for coaching last year, which would have given him a real taste of it. It's a perfect transition going into coaching at his beloved Saints."
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