Puel blasts back at Forster critics

SOUTHAMPTON boss Claude Puel has defended goalkeeper Fraser Forster amid calls from fans for him to be dropped. England international Forster

(right) has suffered an alarming dip in form this season, conceding 44 goals in his 32 outings.

The big Saints stopper has also made some uncharacteristic blunders.

But Puel insists Forster – who has leaked seven goals in the last two games – will keep his place against Hull today.

Strong

“A team is a collective,’’ said Puel. ‘‘So when we are speaking of defence we always talk about three, four or five players responsible for protecting the goal.

“It’s not just the goalkeeper and defenders.

“For me it’s very important that we need to progress with concentration in some situations because we can have good solidarity.

“When we lose the ball all the players have to come back to put in place a strong defensive unit. It’s important to have a good reading of the situation and to anticipate the situation.

“We need to make progress with this and it’s not just the goalkeeper, one defender, one midfielder, it’s a collective – and that’s important for me.”

Saints have slumped to heavy back-to-back defeats at the hands of Manchester City and Chelsea.

But Puel believes facing Hull, battling to stay out of the drop zone, will be even harder than going up against those two big sides.

He added: “It is an important game at home. It’s important for us to take points because we want to finish in the first half of the league table.

“Hull will be a difficult game. I think it will be just as difficult as the last games against Chelsea and Manchester City, perhaps even more so.”