Southampton: Hughes not concerned by draw against Brighton
By Marc Walker
Mark Hughes says that he is not concerned by his Southampton side’s unwanted trait of dropping points from winning positions this season.
Monday night saw Southampton surrender a 2-0 lead against Brighton at St Mary’s despite being on top for much of the contest.
Hughes takes his team to Anfield to face Liverpool this Saturday and the daunting trip will have Saints fans worried about the potential result.
Addressing the problem that has seen five points dropped from winning positions already this season, the Welshman said:
"“We’re aware of it but it’s not really something that we’re dwelling on. We’re more concerned in regards to how we’re performing, and my view is that we’re performing at a decent level but we’ve got still more development and progress to come.“If you want to accentuate the positives, we’re actually on a three-game unbeaten run. That’s how we focus on our performances of late.“In terms of the game the other night, we’ve been done by a good ball into a good area for their first goal and the referee deems fit to give them a penalty in the last minute. So I don’t think it’s a character trait of how poorly we are playing.”"
Next. Saints will need to work without Ings this weekend. dark
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Saturday will be Saints’ biggest test of the campaign so far though. Liverpool are looking in imperious form and put in another impressive display to beat PSG 3-2 in the Champions League on Tuesday night.
Hughes has also been dealt a double blow in the lead up to the weekend; Manolo Gabbiadini picked up an injury in training, whilst the in-form Danny Ings won’t be available to face his parent club due to his current loan deal from the Reds.
A decent run of form has produced a confidence boost for Saints to though. A first win of the season came against Brighton in the League Cup, and that has been followed up with a win and draw versus Crystal Palace and the Seagulls again respectively.
The 4-4-2 system that has been deployed in the last two league games has certainly brought the best out of players such as Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Mario Lemina and Nathan Redmond, but a change in formation could come at Anfield.
Unavailability of players and the need to halt a rampant Liverpool attack could potentially see Hughes return to the 5-4-1 that he preferred at the end of the 2017/18 season.
Closing down spaces in attacking areas will be key if Saints have a chance of getting a positive result, but also providing a threat of their own will be the difficult part.