Wednesday 25 May 2016 09:26, UK
Southampton's negotiations with manager Ronald Koeman over a new contract are progressing well, according to executive director of football Les Reed.
Koeman has enjoyed two successful seasons at St Mary's, having broken the club's Premier League record points tally twice and guided the Saints into the Europa League with a sixth-place finish this term.
The Dutchman's contract expires at the end of next season but he said he wanted to stay at Southampton for the foreseeable future after their final game of the season.
Despite that declaration, sources have told Sky Sports News HQ that Koeman would be tempted away by one of Europe's leading clubs, but he has opened talks over a new deal and Reed is pleased at the way they have gone so far.
"Conversations go on all the time about planning for the future. Ronald has mentioned recently that he's sat down with us at board level and talked about the five-year plan," Reed told the club's official website.
"There's no point going into contract negotiations about finance and money unless you're all on the same wavelength about where the club is going.
"If Ronald is committing himself to the club for a longer period of time, it's important we talk about our ambitions being aligned and that we are still trying to achieve the same things.
"We're now at a point, as Ronald has said himself, where we're actually getting down to the detail of the contract, which is where agents and lawyers get involved.
"Everything is going very positively at the moment."
