Hughes: We must be realistic
MARK HUGHES says the days of Southampton challenging for Europe are over, as pressure mounts on the manager.
The Saints finished in the top eight for four years in a row and qualified for the Europa League in 2016, before narrowly avoiding relegation last season.
And Hughes said: “I have never been one that tried to lower expectations and I don’t think fans want to hear that. I will talk about reality, and the reality is we were 17th last year and we are not going to make a huge leap from 17th to seventh or sixth. That is unrealistic.
“We have more than enough capability of being a top-10 side if we start getting points on the board sooner rather than later.
“But we have to accept we are in a group of teams who are very much like for like.
“I don’t think there is a significant difference between all the teams outside of that top six.” Southampton today host Newcastle, whose manager Rafa Benitez knows his players remain committed to keeping the club in the top flight, which has not always been the case.
The Toon are propping up the table and without a win since May, but Benitez far prefers to go into battle with the current crop than the one he inherited.
Benitez still shudders at memories of his first visit to St Mary’s in 2016, five weeks after his appointment. Newcastle lost 3-1 and Jamaal Lascelles, a fringe player then, launched a tirade against his team-mates. Benitez kept his counsel that day but the fact Lascelles was handed the captaincy within months says everything about what he was thinking. “There are big differences,” he said when asked to assess the team he took over. “Maybe some of them, in their heads they were already out of the club. “This group definitely cares.”