Southampton must fight to halt slide, says Soares

LONDON: Southampton must use the raw emotion of recent disappointments as a spur to improve and end their current slump in form, the English Premier League club’s defender Cedric Soares said ahead of Sunday’s match against fellow strugglers Everton.

Southampton are four points above the relegation zone in 14th position after suffering a threegame winless streak, failing to score in losses to Liverpool and Burnley, and finding the net once in a draw with promoted Brighton.

A defeat to 16th-placed Everton could drag the Saints into the thick of a relegation battle and Soares has urged his teammates to use recent results as extra motivation to stay clear of the drop zone.

“We need to be upset. If you are not upset then something is wrong. We need to think about our mis- takes and what we need to improve,” Soares is quoted as saying by the Daily Echo.

“It’s normal to be upset and upset doesn’t mean you go out there and let your head go down. It means we go out there and you want to show even more and you want to climb out of the hole and come back to winning ways.

“We need to definitely go out there and fight with all our weapons. It’s a question of attitude, we need to demand the best from our players and not 60 or 70% because in the Premier League it’s not enough.”

The 26- year- old believes Southampton gave up too easily during their 3-0 loss to Liverpool last weekend and says the club must react more positively in future games.

“We had one or two mistakes, we conceded the goals and after that it’s tough to come back. Our reaction was not the best,” Soares added.

“Maybe we need to consider our reaction and work on that. We need to make sure we never give up because there’s always a chance to come back. We need to improve that.”