Mark Hughes named a surprise Centre-Back pairing for Southampton’s 0-0 draw with Bournemouth at the weekend, but a strong defensive performance has now given him food for thought.
Jack Stephens was thrown into the action alongside Wesley Hoedt after only making two Premier League appearances for the Saints this season.
However, both of them rose to the occasion and were vital in limiting the Bournemouth attack to very few chances throughout the 90 minutes.
It is possible that Stephens was included for his pace in comparison to Jannik Vestergaard with players such as Ryan Fraser, Josh King and Callum Wilson consistently looking to run in behind.
If Vestergaard had played, Saints may have had to drop deeper to compensate and therefore could have surrendered some of their control over the game.
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During the game, it was actually Hoedt who stepped up and put in a great performance. According to whoscored.com, he made 10 clearances, two blocks and two interceptions to keep out his opponents.
After a poor start to the season from the Dutchman, this could be the display he needed to get back on track.
It was a somewhat quieter game for Stephens, but his presence in the backline as a more mobile player clearly helped the team play with a high defensive line.
Post-match, Hughes also confirmed that this was the key to their solidity when speaking to southamptonfc.com:
"“We did a lot of work with the back four, with three of the back four today, and I think probably some were a little bit surprised with the selection in terms of personnel, but it was a consequence of really good work that had been done in the week and I felt confident that Wes, Ryan and Jack understood totally what we’re trying to do and I think that helped the rest of the guys, because they were able to press higher up the field.”"
With Saints now going into a crucial home game against Newcastle next weekend, they will want to be on the front foot again to get a positive result.
It remains to be seen whether that means Stephens will keep his place alongside Hoedt, but it could be that Vestergaard returns because of the opposition.
Newcastle certainly have less players that will look to get in behind with pace and have often played just a lone striker in attack so this may make it a more suitable game for the big Dane to come back in.