Reading boss Nigel Adkins will invite Mauricio Pochettino, the Argentinian who replaced him as manager of Southampton, for a drink after Saturday's Barclays Premier League game.
It is a twist of fate that Adkins' first home match in charge of Reading is against the club he guided from the bottom of League One into the Premier League before his sudden departure just over two months ago.
But Adkins insisted he does not have anything to prove to Southampton chairman Nicola Cortese and he will treat Pochettino the same as any other visiting manager, saying: "We welcome the opposition management to the Madejski Stadium and, like every opposition team, we always invite them in for a drink afterwards, win, lose or draw. I think that is important."
He went on: "Situations happen in life and in football. I had a fantastic relationship with the supporters and everyone at Southampton but that has now gone. We had a fantastic journey there and that can never be taken away. We were with the players for two and a half years and we were very successful in that spell and we played some good football.
"The situation has happened and what we have to do is move on. You have to move forward. That is the reality.
"You can either dwell on the past or get on with things."
Instead of targeting a top-10 position, which is where he always believed Southampton were destined to finish, Adkins is now in the thick of a relegation battle with Reading.
"I think they will finish in the top 10," Adkins said.
"The players there are doing ever so well. We had a lot of belief in what we would achieve this season and that is being brought out.
"All the players at Southampton deserve a lot of credit. It is a joy watching them play."
Source: PA
