Southampton academy chief Matt Hale has welcomed their coaching shake up.

Former Torquay, Bristol Rovers, Luton and Cheltenham manager Paul Buckle has joined the Under-23s set-up for the final months of the season to assist coach Radhi Jaïdi, with Craig Fleming now working with the first-team.

Buckle, who brings with him a wealth of experience, has most recently been head coach of Sacramento Republic, in the United States of America.

At Under-18s level, Carl Martin, previously of Watford, has teamed up with lead coach Paul Hardyman to oversee the progress of the young Saints.

Hale told southamptonfc.com: "In terms of our technical coaches, we're back up to full speed now.

"We've brought in Paul Buckle to support Radhi Jaïdi with the Under-23s; he joins us from the US with a wealth of experience.

"Carl Martin has also joined us from Watford as the Under-18s Assistant. He knows Paul Hardyman very well and they've started well together. There's a lot of experience in that professional phase department and that's key to the calibre of player we want to produce. We want fresh insight all the time.

"We've got somewhere in excess of 20 players, between the ages of 15-23, that are a part of international set-ups now. The latest is Enzo Robise who has been called up for France.

"We're delighted with the amount of young players who are gaining that recognition and it shows the level of player we've got here, what they're capable of achieving, and that's what we're after if they are to compete for a place in our Premier League side."