Southampton captain Steven Davis calls for unity after poor start

The Northern Irish international thinks the squad should’ve done better, after a dismal display against Watford.

Southampton have started the season with five points from a possible 12, with two goalless draws either side of a 3-2 win over West Ham before their weekend loss to Watford.

Before the game against Manchester United in just under a fortnight, the Saints will have had a run of five league games which were all winnable – but if Crystal Palace have the typical post-managerial sacking revival then the Saints could lose once again this Saturday.

Bar Mario Lemina, the Saints didn’t add anything to their midfield or attack this summer, with zero strikers or wingers arriving at the club.

Having fired blanks in four of their five games in all competitions, several Southampton supporters have already grown restless, with it seemingly being a case of ‘same old, same old’ after Claude Puel’s sub-par time in charge last season.

SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 09: Mauricio Pellegrino, Manager of Southampton looks on during the Premier League match between Southampton and Watford at St Mary’s Stadium on September 9, 2017 in Southampton, England. (Photo by Tony Marshall/Getty Images) /

But the club’s captain Steven Davis has called for unity following the disappointing start to the campaign:

"“It will be a tough game but we’re looking at it from our point of view and we need to improve from Saturday’s game.More from Saints MarchingGrading the Southampton Transfer Window Part 2: ArrivalsGrading the Southampton Transfer Window Part 1: DeparturesIt’s time to talk about Gavin BazunuRain clouds on the horizon? Southampton beat Plymouth ArgyleA lament for Southampton legend James Ward-Prowse“We know we can do a lot better than that. There’s a lot of anger and disappointment with the way we played but we need to stick together now.“We’ve got a lot more quality than what we showed against Watford and it’s about going out and proving that now.”"

After not scoring a single goal and losing all four of their games so far, Crystal Palace could all-of-a-sudden become much more of a challenging opponent this weekend, with several teams playing significantly better after the sacking of their manager.

Much like the Saints, Palace’s only investment came towards the defensive end of the pitch, with Jairo Riedewald and Mamadou Sakho joining from Ajax and Liverpool respectively. Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Timothy Fosu-Mensah were also loaned in, but once again they’ll both feature deeper.

It means that the London outfit have the same inconsistent line-up of attackers that often struggled for goals last season. This is only emphasized by the fact that Palace beat the Saints 3-0 before losing 3-1 in the reverse fixture last time out.

Crystal Palace versus Southampton is set for a 12:30 kick-off this Saturday.

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