Mauricio Pellegrino confesses that he is scared of lots of things, but denies that losing his job is one of them.
Similarly, neither is relegation. Despite the Saints finding themselves in a difficult slump as of late, having won just once in their last seven games, Pellegrino still has faith.
Fans are not so confident however, and unrest has been quietly growing amongst the supporter base, with their club just four points off the bottom three.
Discussing the frailty of managerial spells in football, Pellegrino said;
The most risk in football is to work in football, because you need results all the time.
It’s a really nice job with a lot of situations that I know and I knew in my past as a player and as a manager, and it’s part of our situation.
Everything can happen or can change in one game, two games. I’m not scared about my job; I’m scared about a lot of things, not about my job.
Worry has been growing that Southampton might slip into a relegation battle if they’re not careful, and with five of the top six to face in the coming weeks, Saints certainly don’t have any luck of hoping for a gentle run in to turn results around.
However, next up they welcome Everton to St. Mary’s, and given their own respective on-field issues, it could prove to be a massive game for the South Coast club.
Despite their difficult run of fixtures, Pellegrino is calm about Southampton’s precarious situation, saying;
When we think about the end of the last season, between eighth and 17th, there were six points.
We’re talking about 10 teams and six points. The Premier League is really tough, and a lot of teams are in similar situations.
We have to fight for every single point. We are three points from eighth, or four points away – to be in the top of the table or the bottom.
This is the Premier League, it’s amazing for this, because it’s really competitive, and also really difficult.
