Southampton Drop Two Points

Nigel was disappointed about the way we played after taking the lead. We resorted to long ball tactics and that hurt him as much as the dropped points.

Talking after the game he said, ‘I want us to pass the football and the players are well aware of that.When you get 1-0 up on a pitch like that we need to demand the ball and we need to pass the ball and not just revert to a long ball.’

The goal from Guly pleased him though he explained that Guly not speaking the language makes it harder for him to adjust. He admitted that Guly shows a lot of quality and I believe he can see a player there who will become a big player for us given time.

Nigel praised Barney for the way he is playing and he was probably taken off as much to protect him as to make a tactical change.

He also thinks that Rickie Lambert is getting close to his best again and just needs the rub of the green to give him the boost he needs.

My overall impression from him last night was that Nigel Adkins is learning just how hard it will be to change the way that our team plays.

Like us fans he has seen how the team reverts to the old way when the pressure rises.

As Nigel has said, if we persist in the passing game we will make chances and we will score goals.

I like the cut of his gib and believe even more that we have us a man who can and will be able to take us forward.