Southampton 0-0 Stoke City: Player ratings

7. Lemina’s performance against Stoke was a rather typical Mario Lemina display that we’ve seen recently, solid in midfield, a few outrageous skills but ultimately little attacking intent. To be fair to the Gabonese, it isn’t his job to attack and there was a lot of flair but what’s frustrating is that it doesn’t lead to anything; all it does is woo the crowd for a bit before they start getting frustrated with the team again. I will defend the midfielder when it comes to dedication to the team as the midfielder was bundled on the ground in distress after the final whistle and has shown on social media his strong feelings for the club. In simple terms, the performance was good but we have seen better however, he was probably the best player on the pitch.. Defensive-midfield. Southampton. MARIO LEMINA

Defensive-midfield. Southampton. ORIOL ROMEU. 6. I’m not sure where I stand on Oriol Romeu right now. The man has been brilliant as always defensively this season and was against Stoke, but some passes were misplaced on Saturday and the Spaniard doesn’t seem as effective as he was last season, of course last term he won player of the season. Perhaps the added competition of Lemina and Hojbjerg has affected Romeu and, whilst I’m not saying that he’s been performing badly, the midfielder hasn’t really stood out this season for me. Don’t get me wrong though, I still love the player and think that he was solid overall against Stoke, just I thought that he’d be more effective this season.

JOSH SIMS. 7. After starting against Stoke and coming on against Burnley, I think we’ve got a real bright spark in Josh Sims. The winger was unlucky in some situations and showed great pace and at times brilliant technical ability. If I was to criticise the youngster I would say that in some situations, such as trying to play in Carrillo, he panicked. However, this is just down to a lack of experience and eventually the 20 year-old will be a really exciting prospect as long as he stays in the team!. Right-winger. Southampton

Southampton. NATHAN REDMOND. 5. I honestly have no clue how Redmond got into the starting eleven over Ward-Prowse and also stayed on the pitch for the entire match. In terms of the Stoke match, the winger showed some glimpses of quality and put in what should’ve been the match-winning assist as his cross was nodded wide by Boufal. However, as we’ve seen all season, the 23-year-old wasn’t really too effective and has just become predictable with corners and overlapping runs with Bertrand. It’s worrying that with all the appearances he’s had, he still hasn’t scored and we’re in March which, to me, echoes why there are a number of players who deserved to start over him.. Left-winger

4. I look back at the game and wonder what it was that Tadic actually did. As we know, the midfielder has good days and bad days and today the Serbian was ineffective. I can’t recall a chance created by him nor a decent attempt on goal. It’s a shame because I’ve felt that in recent weeks he’s improved, mainly with the goal at West Brom, but on Saturday he was a complete ghost.. Center attacking-midfield. Southampton. DUSAN TADIC