SAINTS ARE SLIDING TOWARDS THE ABYSS
Fifth straight loss leaves Jones searching for answers
THE only positive Nathan Jones can take into the new year is that history is on Southampton’s side. The Saints have been bottom of the top-flight table at the start of January once before — in the 1991-92 season, when they went on to finish 16th and avoid relegation.
But then-manager Ian Branfoot had Alan
Shearer and Matt Le Tissier to call upon. Jones is not so fortunate.
Southampton are reliant on James WardProwse, who scored at both ends in the 2-1 defeat at Fulham on Saturday. The midfielder diverted Andreas Pereira’s shot into his own net in the first half before redeeming himself with a trademark free-kick in the second.
It should have been enough to earn the Saints a first point under Jones but poor defending from a set-piece allowed Joao Palhinha to head home an 88th-minute winner for the hosts.
Southampton had wasted several chances to take the lead before going behind in the first half and failed to use the momentum of equalising to punish Fulham in the second.
‘They’re big misses and you have to take your chances when you get them in this league,’ Jones said.
He is missing a natural goalscorer, something Southampton have not possessed since they sold Danny Ings to Aston Villa. They just about coped last season with Ward-Prowse scoring 10 and Che Adams and Armando Broja weighing in with seven and six respectively.
Now Broja is back at Chelsea after his loan and Adams looks desperately low on confidence. Adam Armstrong hasn’t scored since August. But with Jones unlikely to spend big in the January transfer window, he needs to find solutions — and fast.
‘We don’t have the biggest or most aggressive side,’ he admitted. ‘We’re having to find formulas and situations where we can be strong.’
Southampton’s struggles are not limited to their frontline, as Jones highlighted after the game. The two goals conceded against Fulham came from poor defending at set-pieces. Jones was furious as he had told his players what to expect. ‘We showed them the exact same set-play 10 times, it’s not the first time Fulham have done that,’ he said. ‘It’s exactly the same positionally. They do it week in, week out. It’s frustrating — we should be better than that.’
It is now five league defeats in a row and Jones admitted his side are suffering from a lack of confidence. ‘We’re in a tough moment,’ he added. ‘But only we can get ourselves out of that, we’re not going to get any help. We need to make sure that we’re the best versions of ourselves.’
Fulham know all about being in Southampton’s position, having been relegated from the Premier League twice in the last four seasons. But Saturday’s win means Marco Silva’s side are now closer to the top four than the bottom three. Silva, though, dismissed suggestions they should be thinking about anything other than staying in the top flight.
‘We have to be realistic,’ he said. ‘We know our reality and the type of competition we are playing against. We’re not in the position to change one word of our target this season. We have to keep our feet on the ground.’ FULHAM (4-2-3-1): Leno 7; Tete 6, Diop 6, Ream 6.5, Robinson 6; Reed 6 (Cairney 62min, 6), Palhinha 6.5; De Cordova-Reid 6.5 (James 62, 6), PEREIRA 7.5 (Tosin 90), Willian 6.5; Mitrovic 6. Scorers: Ward-Prowse 32 (og), Palhinha 88. Booked: None. Manager: Marco Silva 7. SOUTHAMPTON (5-4-1): Bazunu 6; WalkerPeters 6, Bella-Kotchap 6, Lyanco 6, Salisu 6.5 (Lavia 90), Maitland-Niles 5 (A Armstrong 90); Aribo 5 (S Armstrong 67, 6), Elyounoussi 6.5 (Mara 90), Ward-Prowse 7, Edozie 6.5 (Perraud 77, 6); Adams 5.
Booked: Elyounoussi. Scorer: Ward-Prowse 56. Manager: Nathan Jones 6.
Referee: Graham Scott 7.
Attendance: 24,344.