Mauricio Pellegrino is eyeing potential new signings as he looks to add to his Saints squad this summer.

The new St Mary’s boss admits it has been difficult to fully assess the assets at his disposal with extended holidays due to international games meaning some players have not yet returned for pre-season.

Pellegrino gets another week away with his stars in France next week and has refused to rule out dipping into the transfer market before the new season begins.

“Always you can improve the squad but it depends not just on beliefs or ideas but on the market too, the budget, the fees, the salaries. A lot of things,” he said.

“There are some positions I would like to bring some options but it’s not easy for us to compete for players with quality.”

Pellegrino has plenty to contend with in his early days at Saints, not least the transfer saga surrounding Virgil van Dijk, who will train alone at Staplewood rather than go with the rest of the squad to France.

But right now he is trying to maintain a sharp focus on overcoming any obstacles and getting his ideas across.

“We got a couple of viruses,” he reflected. “One was really bad when we were in Austria and the majority of the squad, including the employer, were involved. More than ten persons were with trouble.

“We got another virus that was the dynamic of the team, working really hard, preparing every training session with really nice dynamics.

“We had to forget one virus and be focussed on the other one.”

He added: “It is not easy because we are receiving the players in different groups, but I can see the dynamic from the beginning was really good.

“The players have a lot of concentration, with attention to learn, and it was easy for me because they are really open minded from the beginning.

“The second step is to bring in everybody, and at the end of the next week everybody will be here which will be great news for me because it is not about just to give some concept and trying, but how they will feel training in a different way.

“Some players can improve but maybe some others don’t like the way of the new manager and this is something we can create dynamics to allow the players to feel happy on the pitch.”

When asked what new ideas he was trying to instil, Pellegrino replied: “For me I try to translate to the player that I believe more in the quality than the quantity.

“What means quality? You have to put your mind to training and not just your body, because every day there are lots of ways to train, but when you are 100 per cent on the pitch focussed it is different.

“When you start in university you can study for four or five hours, but if you are not focussed it doesn’t matter. When you focus 100 per cent and taking your notes in silence, good mood, good atmosphere, it is completely different. In training sessions it is the same.

“When you are there at 100 per cent and pushing to improve small things, little by little, because as an individual maybe you have a limit, but the dynamic as a team is unlimited and you can always improve.”

Pellegrino has a tricky job trying to improve upon Saints’ last few seasons that has seen them finish sixth, seventh and eighth, but he insists he is not measuring it purely by numbers.

“I will be happy when I think that the people are happy,” he admitted.

“One of the best moments in my life as a player was when the crowd clapped the players after losing, because the players are giving everything and the people thinking I identify with them.

“I will be a success with this.

“Obviously I want to win because if you don’t win I have to move and they have to bring in another one. This is the rule of my job. It is clear.”