Saints Marching
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Southampton 1-2 Crystal Palace: Three match takeaways

By Nikos Lemanis

SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 02: Mauricio Pellegrino, Manager of Southampton gives his team instructions during the Premier League match between Southampton and Crystal Palace at St Mary's Stadium on January 2, 2018 in Southampton, England. (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)
SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 02: Mauricio Pellegrino, Manager of Southampton gives his team instructions during the Premier League match between Southampton and Crystal Palace at St Mary's Stadium on January 2, 2018 in Southampton, England. (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images) /
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SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 10: Mauricio Pellegrino, Manager of Southampton looks on during the Premier League match between Southampton and Arsenal at St Mary’s Stadium on December 9, 2017 in Southampton, England. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 10: Mauricio Pellegrino, Manager of Southampton looks on during the Premier League match between Southampton and Arsenal at St Mary’s Stadium on December 9, 2017 in Southampton, England. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images) /

Pellegrino’s future

All but the most-accommodating Saints fans have now lost confidence in Pellegrino’s capabilities to take the team forward.

When I profiled the Argentinian before his appointment in last summer, I admit I was quietly concerned about how negatively many of his previous reigns had ended. However young managers with a different viewpoint can be a perfect fit for a club, so failure certainly wasn’t inevitable.

The first half of the season has not played out in the way we hoped though. The manager is facing increasing volumes of scathing criticism from fans each week, with his tactics, substitutions and motivational capabilities called into question.

Team selection and substitutions have been of particular frustration for fans. Highlighting this, against Palace the manager swapped Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg with Gabbiadini with 20 minutes remaining. This left the team exposed and encouraged Palace to push for the eventual winner.
The club have publicly backed Pellegrino, but a poor transfer window and an inability to quickly turn things around may mean the support is short-lived.