Southampton centre-back Maya Yoshida has issued a call to arms for his team-mates and insisted that the side need to both improve and pick up points in the next few weeks ahead of what is certainly a daunting festive schedule for the Saints.
Speaking after the south coast side snatched a draw against Newcastle United at the weekend, Yoshida said (via the Daily Mail):
Fortunately we have another home game coming up next week to make amends, this period between now and the next international break is very important
We need to pick up points now because December holds some very difficult fixtures for us.
The Saints’ December schedule is as follows:
- Bournemouth (A)
- Arsenal (H)
- Leicester City (H)
- Chelsea (A)
- Huddersfield (H)
- Tottenham Hotspur (A)
- Manchester United (A)
That group of games is preceded by an away trip to Manchester City to round off November’s fixtures — so Yoshida is right in saying that the next few weeks are very important. He continued:
West Brom [their next opponents] are a strong side and consistently in the top half of the table. It’s a big opportunity for us to show our character
Southampton are currently 11th in the league with nine points from eight games — just three points away from the relegation zone and already six points away from fourth place, so a good run is certainly needed to propel the side towards a more ambitious finish come the end of the season.
![Referee Andy Madley speaks to both Southampton Manager Tonda Eckert [GER] and Middlesbrough Manager Kim Hellberg [SWE] during the Southampton v Middlesbrough EFL Sky Bet Championship Play-Off Semi-Final 2nd Leg match at St Mary's Stadium, Southampton](https://media.readsouthampton.com/readsouthampton/sites/7/2026/09/esme56H7noXX-300x208.webp)
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