ROY: INGS SNUB STILL GIVES ME THE HUMP
Dean relishing relegation scrap and reunion with Villa’s nemesis Deeney
Vicarage Road, 3pm against Villa in 2015-16 to help send them down.
And when Villa step into Deeney’s Vicarage Road domain this afternoon the Premier League table will read like a threatening letter for both clubs.
Smith said: “You only have to turn on the TV and the table is thrown at you, so you can’t keep away from it.
“I said to the players before the Norwich game, we’ve put a bit of added pressure on ourselves with the losing run, but these lads thrive under pressure – and, perversely, I quite enjoy it.
“Of course I’d rather be fourth in the league and have that pressure, but being third bottom means you have the incentive to go and prove people wrong.”
Deeney is now in his 10th season, and serving under his 12th different manager, at Watford since Walsall sold him in return for the profits from an Elton John concert at Vicarage Road in 2010.
Smith recalled: “Troy’s a good guy. I still keep in touch with him. He’s had a really great career.
“The biggest compliment I can give him is that his attitude was exemplary when I saw him at Walsall.
“He wanted to work hard and lead the line, and it looks like he’s become that leader at Watford. The only cross words we’ve had are down to the fact that he’s a Birmingham fan!
“But he’s been at Watford a long time, and when you have been somewhere that amount of time you have got to be doing something right.
“Is there still a place for the old-fashioned No.9 in modern football? I don’t see why not – the game hasn’t changed that much and you’ve still got to score more goals than them.”
St Mary’s Stadium, 3pm
DANNY INGS thanked Roy Hodgson for his only England cap by snubbing a transfer to Crystal Palace.
The former Liverpool striker played in Lithuania in October 2015 just before suffering a serious knee injury in his first training session under Jurgen Klopp.
Palace were among the clubs trying to sign Ings when he left Anfield in 2018 in search of regular first-team football.
But Ings
(above) opted for Southampton and he has scored 13 goals this season while the south London club still need a top-class finisher.
“I don’t know if I forgive him for not coming to us when we wanted to sign him and he went to Southampton instead,” said Palace boss Hodgson.
“I’ve still got a bit of a bee in my bonnet about that one but I’ve always admired Danny as a player.
“He is what you’d call a natural goal scorer. His movement in and around the area is very good.
“When a chance comes his way he’s got the technique to take the chance and of course
RALPH HASENHUTTL has called for patience from Southampton fans while he makes St Mary’s feel like home again.
The Saints boss has seen his side register back-to-back wins at Aston Villa and Chelsea, taking them clear of the danger zone. But that improvement will be put to the test today against in-form Crystal Palace.
Saints, after their impressive 2-0 win at Chelsea, have now won four out of their last six added to that he’s a hard worker. So what got him selected for England and playing in Lithuania was those qualities which we admire and it was very unlucky of course that he picked up that nasty injury very soon after that game that ruled him out for months to come.”
Christian Benteke joined the Palace injury list before the win over West Ham while Patrick van Aanholt came off with a hamstring strain. And Hodgson renewed his appeal for January reinforcements despite sitting in the healthy position of ninth place.
“The players understand it’s going to be of vital importance if we’re going to have a decent second half of the season and achieve our goal because this is a dangerous league,” he said.
“You can slip so very very quickly. A good run can certainly become two defeats and a third defeat in a game that should have ended a draw then you lose the next one and all of a sudden, you’re looking over your shoulder and asking: ‘Are we going to get relegated?’”
Name v Name
games, with Hasenhuttl surviving an early season 9-0 hammering at home to Leicester. Hasenhuttl (below) said: “Our away fans are the best example of how to support us. In our own stadium we must be committed. “There’s a reason why we have less patience at home. It’s because we lost a lot of games there and were on the back foot immediately.
“Away from home, we almost always score the first goal. But in the end it’s about 90 minutes.