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Pre-season analysis: Southampton 0-3 Derby County

By Chris Hughes

SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - MAY 13: Charlie Austin of Southampton reacts at the full time whistle as his team avoid the relegation the Premier League match between Southampton and Manchester City at St Mary's Stadium on May 13, 2018 in Southampton, England. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)
SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - MAY 13: Charlie Austin of Southampton reacts at the full time whistle as his team avoid the relegation the Premier League match between Southampton and Manchester City at St Mary's Stadium on May 13, 2018 in Southampton, England. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images) /
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KUNSHAN, CHINA – JULY 05: Cedric Teuchet of Schalke FC competes the ball with Wesley Hoedt of Southampton FC during the 2018 Clubs Super Cup match between Schalke and Southampton at Kunshan Sports Center Stadium on July 5, 2018 in Kunshan, Jiangsu Provinceon, China. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)
KUNSHAN, CHINA – JULY 05: Cedric Teuchet of Schalke FC competes the ball with Wesley Hoedt of Southampton FC during the 2018 Clubs Super Cup match between Schalke and Southampton at Kunshan Sports Center Stadium on July 5, 2018 in Kunshan, Jiangsu Provinceon, China. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images) /

Is Hoedt actually quality enough?

Again, pre-season games have to be taken with a pinch of salt, but Wesley Hoedt has done nothing to repair the damage done to his reputation towards the end of last season.

After a solid start to the campaign, Hoedt struggled for consistency over the course of the year, leading to his occasional dropping under Mauricio Pellegrino.

Today the Dutchman was at fault for one of the Rams’ second-half goals and was generally poor throughout, despite the fact that exactly a week ago many Southampton fans were dead against the idea of moving Hoedt on.

Naturally, with Ryan Bertrand having started both pre-season friendlies as a left-sided centre-half, the Saints can then easily play Vestergaard in the middle and any of Yoshida, Stephens or Bednarek on the right side.

Nonetheless, Hoedt’s performances in both a three and a four-man defence are generally concerning, and Mark Hughes will need to address this over the next three friendlies before the season begins.