Mark Wotte has today agreed to remain in charge of first team affairs at St. Mary's…

Wotte took over from Jan Poortvliet in January on a short-term basis following his fellow Dutchman's decision to step down, but has now been given the opportunity to continue as manager and was delighted to accept.

"I am very happy to stay to help this club towards a better future," Wotte said. "I didn't want to leave while we are in such a difficult situation and I want to stick with the players and the staff at this great club and continue our preparations for life in League One."

With the first pre-season fixture scheduled to take place this weekend, Saints have placed a high value on ensuring that continuity can be maintained within the squad, regardless of any off-the-field developments.

"I'm delighted to have been given the chance to continue the work that I started in January," he continued.

"I have also asked Michael Svensson to continue working as my assistant and he was also very happy to accept this role. Any other backroom staff appointments will be confirmed in due course."

"I am happy that we now have a clearer situation on the football side of things and we can step up our preparations for the new season over the next five or six weeks.

"We have our first pre-season friendly on Saturday at Eastleigh and that will signal the start of our more specific pre-season programme, rather than the more general fitness work that we have been doing so far to build up the players' physical conditions.

"Our aim is to get the best possible results when the season starts in August and that will now continue from the start of training tomorrow."

Club Director David Jones thanked Wotte for his professional approach to pre-season so far and wished him future success.

"We would like to thank Mark for the commitment and loyalty that he has shown at this challenging time. We are delighted that he has agreed to stay with us and we hope we can look forward to a successful season in League One."

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