There seems to be an overwhelming amount of pride and eagerness amongst the squad after the team drew FC Midtjylland in the Playoff Stage of the Europa League yesterday. Ronald Koeman has a track record of taking these tournaments seriously and he is obviously taking the same approach this year.
“Yes I try always – of course you have players that are not really a 100% maybe thats a good reason to change something but if everyone is available then I don’t make a lot of changes.”
He said at the pre-Vitesse press conference three days ago about the future campaign. His good results versus Vitesse show for it. Unfortunately, Ronald will be out for the match tomorrow following an injury to his achilles which resulted in surgery.
Operation successful! #WeMarchOn pic.twitter.com/ZIWaBahWn7
— Ronald Koeman (@RonaldKoeman) August 7, 2015
Captain Jose Fonte wants European Football to be a regularity, not something that only comes every few years saying,
“I told the lads before the game ‘where would you prefer to be – playing in League 1 or the championship, or playing in European Football every night? Let’s just make the most of it and get used to it.”
He went on to say,
“We want to try and keep in European Football for a long time. The result was the most important. We had a good lead from the first leg and it was a question of managing the game.”
James Ward-Prowse is also trying to make the most of his time on the field saying,
“There is a lot of competition for places and a lot of rotation with the amount of games we have to play. It’s just the case of when you’re in the team, do a great job”
Competition is one aspect of Ronald Koeman’s side that has been expertly crafted. Most positions for the Saints include two players who must compete day in and day out to earn a starting job like Ward-Prowse mentioned. With a great pipeline of youth products who are eager for first team appearances and large squad turnover every year, the competition level only rises and improves the overall quality of play amongst the team. Lots of players will savor the extra opportunities that the Europa League brings.
Ronald’s brother and assistant coach, Erwin, will be taking over in his absence. He knows that the Saints must not lose focus with the extra fixtures saying,
“Of course, some of them they know what the Premier League is like and you need every game, you need 100 per cent intensity or you lose games”
“We lost games last year against Sunderland, Leicester, and they played with more intensity than we did.”
“We have to improve ourselves because the expectations also in Southampton are higher than last year.”
Focus must be on the forefront of the Saints minds. They cannot afford to get too involved in one competition or take neither seriously. Teams like Everton last year take a step back when competing in Europe, it is clear that Southampton would like to do the reverse. The Saints take on Newcastle at 1:30 tomorrow, read our full match preview here.
