DON’T PARK THE DUS
Tadic: Saints need courage to get winning feeling again
SOUTHAMPTON v PALACE St Mary’s Stadium, Tomorrow 7.45pm DUSAN TADIC wants Southampton to show more bravery – even after defying Manchester United on Saturday.
The Saints emerged with credit for holding Jose Mourinho’s side to a goalless draw at Old Trafford. It was a perfect response to their 5-2 Boxing Day mauling by Tottenham at Wembley on Boxing Day.
James Ward-Prowse and Shane Long (right) also had decent chances to nick three points. Yet they are still in a perilous position going into tomorrow’s home game with Palace.
Southampton may well be 13th in the table, but are only two points above West Ham, who are in the bottom three.
And Tadic, on the receiving end of an off-the-ball elbow from Ashley Young on Saturday, is calling for his team-mates to man up.
The Serbia forward said: “We need more points and we need to show that in other games.
“We have quality, we need to believe in ourselves and to play with more courage.”
Mauricio Pellegrino’s side have had an alarming sequence of eight games without a victory, including a winless December.
Although they have picked up four draws in that time, including holding Arsenal as well as United and only losing 1-0 at Chelsea, they know it is victories that matter.
Tadic is well aware this clash at St Mary’s against Palace, who only have two days rest following their draw against Manchester City, is a must-win.
He said: “It’s a very important game. I hope we take three points, but they’re a very strong team and difficult to beat.”
Defender Wesley Hoedt added: “It’s going to be a really important one for us and we need to bring our A-game. It’s vital to win. That’s the only thing that counts.”
Southampton have good recent memories against Palace. They won 1-0 at Selhurst Park back in September thanks to a Steve Davis goal.
And they have won their last three home matches against the Eagles, including victories in both the league and League Cup last term.
With Virgil van Dijk joining Liverpool for £75million, Pellegrino has no shortage of funds and January promises to be a vital month for the Saints.