Southampton chairman Ralph Krueger has admitted that the club has endured a "summer of pain" following the exits of a number of key players.

The likes of Rickie Lambert, Luke Shaw, Adam Lallana, Calum Chambers and Dejan Lovren have all left St Mary's in the current transfer window, while manager Mauricio Pochettino has also moved on.

Krueger acknowledged that it had been a tough few months for the team, but believes that it will prove to be beneficial in the long run.

"I don't ever want to sit here and say we're going to be the best, but I want to know that we're as well run as anybody else. That's what we're working towards here. If we do that here, then the people of Southampton and the fans of the Saints will see an excellent of level Premier League football for a long time," he told Press Association Sport.

"That is the only way you will have a healthy club in Southampton, if you can create that environment - otherwise, it is a fly-by-night situation. You might get one good year, you might be there. You don't want to be a yo-yo team, we want to be a stable organisation. This is a summer of pain. It is a summer of pain on many, many different levels.

"It has been six months of pain because so much change has gone on and people always have fear in change. That's why we have to have patience with the team now because it is not going to come overnight. But everything we're doing is driven by the fact that we want to create a really honest, healthy structure and we want to be as well run as anybody."

Dusan Tadic, Graziano Pelle and Ryan Bertrand have all been signed to replace the departing players, while Saphir Taider is also expected to join the club this week.