The 2008/09 season was the year that Southampton opted to put their faith in Dutch managers.

Having started the season with Jan Poortvliet, the Saints switched to Mark Wotte, who had previously served under his countryman, midway through the campaign.

How did he fare? Unfortunately for the South Coast club, not very well.

Wotte's Southampton career

Having largely managed in his homeland before coming to England, Wotte was somewhat thrown in at the deep end. Taking over in January 2009, Wotte was left with a Southampton squad bereft of confidence, sat second-bottom in the Championship.

Their form did not improve straight away. Two draws and two defeats in Wotte's first four games in charge left the side facing the prospect of relegation. However, three consecutive wins over Preston, Cardiff and Ipswich offered the team some hope.

That was about as good as it got, though. Southampton secured just one victory in their last 11 matches, and subsequently dropped down to the third tier after falling six points short of safety. Wotte was sacked before the following campaign.

What happened next?

Wotte took six months out of the game after leaving England, before heading over to Romania briefly. He would last just 13 games.

Refusing to shy away from fresh challenges, Wotte went to Egypt to manage Ismaily, but was in the manager's hotseat for only 10 months. 

A spell in Scotland followed. Wotte was named the national team's technical director in 2011, prior to a stint as the Scotland Under-16s coach between 2012 and 2014.

His next roles came in Morocco, where he worked with the country's youth teams until 2019.

Where is he now?

That's a good question. Wotte is currently out of work, with his latest job being cut short last summer.

In July 2020, the 60-year-old was named manager of Abu Dhabi side Al Wahda. However, due to the global crisis, the league was postponed, and Wotte was relieved of his duties in September.

It remains to be seen where he will end up next.