Hughes: Southampton are just too

Mark Hughes said his Southampton players were “too honest” as they allowed Chelsea to score three goals in eight minutes in a humiliating collapse that has left them five points adrift of Premier League safety.

Hughes lamented his side’s inability to stem the flow once Chelsea had scored their first goal with just 20 minutes remaining and warned he has learnt which of his players are “not willing to put their bodies on the line”.

During the 10-minute spell from the 70th minute to the 80th minute, in which Chelsea’s Olivier Giroud scored either side of an Eden Hazard equaliser, Southampton completed just eight passes.

“It was difficult,” Hughes said. “It was that case of thinking ‘Come on, guys – you need to understand what is happening here’.

“Sometimes you have to have the ability, some would say it’s a skill, to knock people over in the right areas of the field. The top teams do it – Manchester City do it, Chelsea do it – just to be able to stop the game and give yourself time to regroup. We are probably a little bit too honest in that regard.”

Asked if Southampton have the leaders capable of providing this cynical edge, Hughes added: “I am starting to learn what leaders and what kind of leadership group I have got within the club. I have got good characters, I have got strong characters. Maybe the starting line-up needs more of those.

“Clearly I am getting to understand who are the guys that are going to help us and who are not willing to put their bodies on the line.”

Southampton, who scored through Dusan Tadic and Jan Bednarek, now face Leicester City on Thursday before another meeting with Chelsea in Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final.

They may encounter Giroud from the start after the Frenchman changed the game following his arrival from the bench, in place of the disappointing Alvaro Morata. Giroud’s goals were his first in the Premier League since he joined Chelsea from Arsenal in the January transfer window.

“It has been a bit difficult for me but I always try to give my best and keep working hard in training and keep the faith,” Giroud said.

“So today I am glad to help the team to have made it, because it was not very simple.”

Antonio Conte’s side are now seven points behind fourth-placed Tottenham with five games remaining in the race for Champions League qualification. “Mathematically, the top four is still possible,” Giroud said. “As long as that is possible we will keep believing.”

Conte took full responsibility for Chelsea’s abject first-half performance, saying that his team lacked the “right spirit” at the start of the game. “It’s not a problem of formation or about your choice of starting XI,” he said.

“It’s important in every game to have the right passion, the right enthusiasm, the right spirit. These are the most important things and I think that the coach has to transfer these to the players. When you are not able to do this, it means that you have to take the responsibility.”

Conte added that it was a “tactical