Ronald Koeman admits his decision to move to Southampton was questioned at home in Holland.
Many felt the former Feyenoord coach was making a step down.
"Why?" Koeman asks the Mail on Sunday. "Because of the level of the club? I think in Holland we maybe don't realise that clubs like Southampton or West Ham or Aston Villa are very big clubs in England.
"Of course, I was coach of Valencia. I was coach of big clubs in Holland. Maybe there is a difference in possibilities to win titles or to win in European football.
"But I was interested in coaching in the Premier League and I was surprised after the first meeting I had with the club; about the facilities, about the possibilities. I met Les Reed [head of football development] and we talked only about football, about the philosophy of the club.
"I had also done some homework. But my feeling was very good after that first meeting. It is a club that is very serious about what it is doing, and the work it has done over the last few years, here at the training ground and with the academy, is just exceptional. We are not happy, but it's a compliment that Paul Mitchell [a talent scout] is going to Tottenham.
"I believe Southampton are growing up. When you look at what they did over the last five years, nobody can stop Southampton."
