Southampton midfielder Dusan Tadic has been speaking about his team’s present struggles, as an almighty task lies ahead of the Saints to preserve Premier League status.
Sitting third from bottom, Southampton are two points from safety behind Crystal Palace, who they have a game-in-hand over.
Those seven remaining matches for the Saints are by no means easy, however.
Matches against Arsenal and Chelsea are followed by a trip to Leicester, before the FA Cup semi-final, again against Chelsea.
Games with Bournemouth, Everton, and Swansea follow, before the conclusion of the season at home to Manchester City.
It’s a run of encounters that will require a serious, concerted effort to gain sufficient points for survival, and the Daily Echo are reporting Tadic as being ready for the task at hand.
With regards to this troublesome season, the Serbian issued encouragement for his teammates, saying:
This is a strange and sad situation for me,
But you need to fight, you have to fight for yourself, you have to fight for the team and try to give your best. Everyone must be focused.
The run of poor form seems to be affecting the 29-year-old as well:
Last night I slept but for two nights I didn’t sleep,
I have had a lot of fights during my career and my way to get where I am now was not easy.
As the season draws closer to completion, Tadic is under no illusion where the keys to escaping the drop lie:
For me, every fight is similar, but football is a team sport and we need everyone to be together.
A better team will win, not the better individual.
