Southampton: Austin calls on Saints fans to keep supporting
By Marc Walker
Southampton striker Charlie Austin has called on the Saints fans to keep supporting him and his teammates through their current spell of form.
Saints have only managed to win one game from their first 10 in the Premier League this season and a 0-0 draw with Newcastle United saw them unable to capitalise on the chances that they created.
After a frustrating afternoon, boos were audible from the stands at St Mary’s come the full-time whistle as fans saw their side goalless for the fifth straight league game.
Speaking to the Daily Echo, Austin said:
"“I know the fans are getting frustrated and I totally understand that, but we are trying 100 percent to get the second win of the season and push on. You only have to look around and see that everyone is on the edge because they don’t know whether we are going to concede or score. It’s not hard to feel it.“I know it’s a frustrating time at the moment, but just keep getting behind us and it will come. If we weren’t creating chances, then it would be time to worry.”"
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The 2018/19 campaign hasn’t been a fruitful one for Austin so far. He only has one goal to his name after netting in the Carabao Cup win at Brighton back in August.
He has recently been restored to starting line-ups under Mark Hughes but it remains to be seen whether a partnership between him and Ings can be a successful one.
Saints have looked better defensively in their last two games against Bournemouth and Newcastle, but they continue to find difficulties when attacking and have the second-worst shot conversion rate in the Premier League.
The players seem to be fearful of playing in front of the St Mary’s crowd at the moment and this seemed to cause a lot of poor decision making on Saturday.
Austin would be unlucky with this as he was in prime position to score a tap-in, but Mohamed Elyounoussi failed to look up before taking a shot and therefore didn’t see other options available.
Manolo Gabbiadini, who seems a shadow of his former self in front of goal, seemed desperate to win the game for Saints but was culpable too with a wild shot from 30 yards out.
A tough test away to Manchester City arrives this weekend, but games against Watford and Fulham following that will be key indicators in determining whether the players can start stringing some results together to climb the table.