With Southampton announcing Claude Puel as their new manager on Thursday, premierleague.com looks at the numbers behind the 54-year-old’s career.
Puel has become the seventh French manager in the competition’s history (see table below).
French managers in Premier League
| Manager | P | W | D | L | Win % |
| Arsene Wenger | 752 | 434 | 187 | 131 | 57.7 |
| Gerard Houllier | 261 | 122 | 69 | 70 | 46.7 |
| Jean Tigana | 71 | 20 | 22 | 29 | 28.2 |
| Jacques Santini | 11 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 27.3 |
| Alain Perrin | 20 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 20 |
| Remi Garde | 20 | 2 | 6 | 12 | 10 |
Prior to swapping the south coast of France to that of England, Puel led Nice to a fourth-place finish in the 2015/16 Ligue 1 for the second time, having done so in 2012/13.
During his time at Nice he won 61 of his 152 matches for a 40.1% win ratio, the highest win rate for a Nice manager since Nenad Bjekovic between 1987 and 1989 (41%).
He also moves to the Premier League as one of the most experienced Ligue 1 managers. Of all active coaches, only Jean Fernandez (603) has coached more Ligue 1 fixtures than Puel's 577.
Southampton will be competing in the UEFA Europa League group stages in 2016/17 for the first time in the club’s history and Puel’s European record provides them reason for optimism.
Only Arsenal’s Arsene Wenger has managed more UEFA Champions League matches (176) than Puel's 48 among French coaches, and he steered Lyon to the semi-finals of the competition in 2009/10.
Having also served as a player and a coach at Monaco, whom he coached to the Ligue 1 title, Puel will be hoping for a winning start in Southampton’s first Premier League outing, at home to Watford on Saturday 13 August.
For more on Puel's appointment at Southampton, visit saintsfc.co.uk.
