Southampton vice chairman Les Reed has expressed his delight at the appointment of Mauricio Pellegrino as the team's new manager.

The club executive hailed the Argentine coach as the right man to take the Saints forward and assured fans that he will bring "exciting, attacking football" to St Mary's.

"We firmly believe Mauricio is the right person to help us take the next steps. He knows our players and believes we have a great squad that with some fine-tuning will be able to deliver continued success," Reed told reporters.

"Mauricio believes with the quality we have we can play exciting, attacking football, taking the game to our opponents by playing a high-intensity game. He will continue to develop and introduce young players whilst building on the core of experience that we have in the squad.

"During the recruitment process Mauricio quickly became our first choice and, while he had other options, we are delighted he feels that St Mary's is the right place for him and we believe he is the right fit for us."

Former Alaves boss Pellegrino succeeds Claude Puel in the Southampton hotseat following the Frenchman's dismissal earlier this month.