Southampton players are accused by Matt Le Tissier of not showing enough determination to remain in the Premier League.
The Southampton icon admitted to SunSport that watching his favorite team`s historic decline this season has been “a chore”.
The South Coast team became the quickest Premier League club to be relegated after losing to Spurs the previous Sunday, with seven games still remaining.
Southampton has only accumulated ten points from 32 matches and needs just two more points to surpass Derby`s record low of 11 points in a Premier League season, set in 2008-09.
Le Tissier, who dedicated his entire playing career to Southampton, scoring 161 goals in 443 appearances, has expressed his displeasure with what he has witnessed from his usual seat at the club.
The 56-year-old commented, “This season has been very difficult to watch.”
“We have been relegated before, but never on this scale.”
“It’s tough to watch a team that is so far behind the rest of the league. This has probably been the most challenging season I`ve had to watch us play football – it has been a real chore.”
“It hasn’t been enjoyable watching our team being outplayed regularly.”
“It`s not something I`m used to seeing, even when we were close to relegation during my playing days.”
“We were reasonably competitive and fought hard.”
“We might have lacked some quality, but never the will to fight for it.”
“However, this team doesn`t seem to have that fighting spirit, which is typical of many footballers today.”
“There doesn’t seem to be the same bond between the players and the fans in the stands as we had.”
“I was involved in at least five relegation battles. We never got relegated – and four of them went down to the last day of the season.”
Poor performance led to Ivan Juric losing his position as manager.
However, Le Tissier, from Channel Island, nicknamed Le God, believes that not all Southampton fans will be disappointed to see their team return to the Championship just a year after Adam Armstrong`s goal secured a 1-0 victory against Leeds in the play-off final.
He stated, “When we reached the play-offs last season, I`d say there was a 50-50 split among Saints fans, with half not wanting to be promoted due to concerns about exactly what has transpired.”
“I spoke with many of them a year ago, and they said they wouldn`t mind losing the final.”
“It’s not a good situation for a football club when you know that if you get promoted, you`re going to get thrashed every week.”
“I am happy to engage with people and discuss football all day, but their frustration is evident.”
“Most of their frustration stems from the impression given by the players that they don’t care enough about the football club.”
“Clubs experience ups and downs throughout seasons, but this is a significant downturn.”
“And it highlights how far we`ve fallen, as we are still trying to avoid becoming the worst Premier League team ever based on our points total.”
The former Sky Sports Soccer Saturday analyst is highly respected by Saints supporters, having dedicated his entire professional career to the club.
In his playing days, he was famous for scoring spectacular goals and was the fastest midfielder to reach 100 goals in the Premier League era during his prime.
Le Tissier, who is always outspoken, would like to see a young manager with local ties replace Juric, who was dismissed earlier this month.
However, he suggests that Russell Martin, who was sacked in December, might have kept his job if he had not been so committed to the passing style that had been praised in the Championship.
Le Tissier added, “To be honest, I`d like to see a young, progressive manager, someone who is willing to adjust his tactics when necessary.”
“If Russell Martin had adopted a more pragmatic strategy, he might still be employed. He was well-liked here, and it wouldn`t have taken much for him to stay if he had swallowed his pride a bit.”
“He was too stubborn about playing out from the back and conceding goals due to defensive errors every week.”
“He used his style of football to get us out of the league we are now heading back to – a style that works in the Championship but not in the Premier League.”
“If the new manager had a connection to the club, it would be very well received by the fans, and that`s something I`d like to see.”
“But that, I suppose, is different from the business perspective of the owners and the CEO making decisions they believe will give us the best chance of getting promoted again.”
