Bertrand taking the positives from Stoke stalemate

Southampton defender Ryan Bertrand has urged his side to take the positives from their goalless draw with Stoke City at the weekend.

Speaking to the Daily Echo following the stalemate, stand-in Saints captain Bertrand admitted that it was disappointing to come away from the game with just a point. However, he insisted that there were positives to be taken into what promises to be a nervy period for the club.

We just applied more energy and just went up a notch in our intensity and we had them on the ropes but we didn’t manage to score. It was a good way to finish. If you’re going to draw it is better to finish as the team in the ascendancy so we can take the positives from that and move on.

We know the points were there to be won but we didn’t quite get over the line today.

Southampton currently sit in 17th place on the Premier League table with just nine games remaining. Six of these are away from home, while two of the last three home games come against Chelsea and Manchester City.

Bertrand has been one of Saints’ more consistent performers this season and will be hoping to help his men avoid relegation ahead of the 2018 World Cup with England at the end of the season.

There are a lot of positives to take from how tight it is so we just need to get the goals in and turn these goals into wins and it’s a completely different story. We need to get our wins, especially playing the teams close to us. Draws are just not good enough for us at the moment.

The 28-year-old will likely wear the captain’s armband on Saturday as Mauricio Pellegrino’s men make the long trip up north to face Newcastle United.