Southampton are set for a busy few weeks.
After the humiliating 5-0 defeat to Leicester City on Tuesday night the club saw their slim hopes of automatic promotion crushed.
Now attention must turn to their last two games of the regular Championship season, where manager Russell Martin will be looking for a big reaction.
Southampton had won three in a row prior to consecutive defeats against Cardiff City and Leicester and need to find form again ahead of the play-offs.
Whether the Saints achieve Premier League promotion will have a massive impact on the players they can target in the summer transfer window.
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However, one key figure behind the scenes won’t be involved in the post-season recruitment, as he has accepted a job elsewhere.
Michael Cairney to depart Southampton
That man is Michael Cairney, who has been working as a scout for Southampton.
According to the Daily Record, Dundee United have appointed Cairney as their new head of recruitment ahead of their return to the Scottish Premier League.
The report suggests that the scout has already identified a number of targets for his new employers and has put these forward to the club, although the calibre of player is likely to be very different to those he was watching for Southampton.
Despite being just 30, Cairney has a wealth of experience having worked for Barnet, Doncaster Rovers and Dutch club FC Twente before taking up a scouting role at Southampton.
It was not just the south coast club he was working for though, as Cairney was also talent-spotting for Southampton owners Sport Republic’s other clubs Goztepe and Valenciennes.
Speaking to Dundee United’s official website, Cairney explained what attracted him to the role as he said: “It’s a really exciting time to be joining the club – we have a bit of a blank canvas and an excellent opportunity to implement some new structures and processes.
“Work has been underway for several weeks on identifying some key targets and enhancing our recruitment strategy moving forward.”
His role at Dundee looks to be far more senior than the work he was doing at the Saints and the prospect of a ‘blank canvas’ appears to have been what drew Cairney – whose areas of expertise are the Dutch and Portuguese leagues – to the role.
Cairney joins Jason Wilcox out of Southampton
It is unclear at this stage how much of an impact Cairney’s departure will have on Southampton’s recruitment.
However, more worryingly is that he is not the first off-field member of staff to depart so close to the end of the season.
Southampton appointed sporting director Jason Wilcox following Premier League relegation last summer as part of a massive overhaul of staff and he was the man who appointed Russell Martin as manager.
After less than a year in the post, Wilcox recently left the Saints to become the new technical director of Manchester United.
Whilst it is difficult to blame Wilcox for jumping at the opportunity to head up a new era at one of the biggest clubs in world football, it is concerning that Southampton are losing key members of staff behind the scenes.
Regardless of promotion, it looks set to be a busy summer.
Fans will be hoping a contingency plan has been in place for such departures and the impact on the team on the pitch is minimal.