You would have thought that Nathan Jones would be a little more careful in what he says to the media after his car crash post match interview at Brentford, but as we head towards the home match with Wolves he has once again been saying some strange things.

I have nothing personal against Saints manager Nathan Jones, but I hoped he would be keeping things quiet before the do or die game against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday, but it seems that he can't just shut up and let his football do the talking.

Speaking about our trio of injured players, Juan Larios, Kyle Walker Peters & Stuart Armstrong Jones had this to say:

“It’s a bit early for Juan. The other two [Armstrong and Walker-Peters] are a lot further ahead so, how early it is Saturday to play them, because they’re important players, again, not because we don’t like them or think they can’t improve the team, it’s about putting them into games when they’re ready so that’s what we’ll do.”

This sounds like something you get in the school playground "not because we don’t like them" what a strange sentence, why would he suggest that he did or did not like them, no one has suggested anything else, is he getting a bit paranoid you have to ask yourself.

Jones also denied that he there was any bust up's on the training ground or that he was at odds with any members of his squad.

Asked to clarify Caleta-Car’s situation for supporters, Jones told the Daily Echo: “It was a precaution. Some changes we make are precautionary to look after players and that’s first team or B team. Duje has trained fully since.

“We felt because of the suspension he was deconditioned, so did we want him to travel to Brentford and sit in the hotel? There’s only so much you can do there, or do I say to him he gets match minutes so he is better equipped and ready for if selected to play against Wolves.

Another strange quote, Caleta-Car was suspended for one match, that being the home game against Blackpool in the FA Cup, when most of the other players who were first choice at the time were rested, some came off the bench and others did not, indeed James Ward Prowse was not even in the squad.

Caleta Car was fit to be on the bench for the trip to Newcastle on the Wednesday evening, but did not get on the pitch, on the Friday he found himself playing for the B team and was fit to start that game and looked perfectly ok up to the half time whistle.

Given his last game between the Newcastle game sending off and the B team game was only 10 days and that he had trained full time up to that, just how had he become deconditioned.

James Bree made his Saints debut up at Newcastle exactly 10 days after his last game for Luton Town, why was he not deconditioned after 10 days, yet Caleta-Car was ?

But perhaps his strangest comment was a rambling anecdote to try and justify that he was the man to save Saints.

Reflecting on his previous difficulties in football, the ex- Brighton and Yeovil player brought up this anecdote.

"I think every situation is unique, but look, I went to Luton, I was homesick when I went to Luton when I was a player. The manager left, David Pleat left, my next move was then to go to Spain [with second-tier outfit Badajoz].

"No logic in that because I'm homesick in Luton and then I decide to go to Spain. I enjoy a challenge, I want to be the best version of me. I could have stayed in a mining community, been a PE teacher and had a nice life, married a nice Welsh girl. Beautiful. I didn't. I want to test myself on every level. And that's nothing against Welsh women,"

What a strange thing to say, just what did it mean in reference to Southampton Football Club, Jones has mentioned in the past that his in laws are Saints fans, was he suggesting that he could have married a Welsh woman rather than her !

I actually feel a little bit sorry for Jones here, he strikes me as a man who is perhaps a genuine person, there is no reason why he shouldn't be, nice people manage football clubs and fail, it doesn't make them bad people just bad managers, likewise bad people win a lot of things in football, people like them for that.

Jones seems to be desperately trying to justify his position at every turn, he seems eager for people to like him and respect him, sadly I think he needs to just shut up and let the football do the talking, that is what will win him respect and ultimately decide whether he has a future at St Mary's in the longer term.

He seems to not be in control of his feelings when in the spotlight, all the pictures I have downloaded to this site bar about two have him waving his arms about in a very animated fashion, football managers need to lead from the front and gain the respect from their players that way, in any football dressing room and i mean any from Sunday League upwards, the players would be sniggering if their manager had outbursts such as this, I doubt Southampton FC is any different.

Underneath it all Nathan Jones might be an honest and thoroughly decent human being, but that counts little in football.

Photo: Action Images

Ali_Diarea added 15:48 - Feb 10 He’s starting to sound like David Brent 😂
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SaintPaulVW added 16:04 - Feb 10 He just reeks of insecurity. Players and opposing managers will pick up on it if he doesn't learn to shut up.
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felly1 added 16:30 - Feb 10 Please don't mark me down as a Jones fan but I don't think we're doing ourselves any favours by analysing every detail of his press conferences. All I care about is we start getting results.... quickly. Couldn't care less if Mr Blobby was the boss tbh.
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PatfromPoole added 16:32 - Feb 10 He’s trying to be Strachan. But he’s just a poor man’s David Brent.
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smartjoe added 16:59 - Feb 10 I believe NJ should immediately consult with any of the following people.......Big Sam, Sammy Lee or Neil Warnock to get some football sense knocked into him. Then he should consult with the nearest psychiatrist to get some common sense knocked into him.
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DiscoStoobs added 17:07 - Feb 10 Did anyone know Jones used to manage Luton Town? It's hardly ever mentioned...
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DellBoyWally added 17:20 - Feb 10 But he was the fittest person in the world! Maybe he meant his mouth which seems to run off at every opportunity. Felly, his press conferences are showing the man: "the best manager in Europe"; "the fittest in the world" But none of that reflects what's happening to the team! I think Mr Blobby could have got 1 win in 6. Me and JoeEgg might disagree about a lot but, between us, we wouldn't have done any worse. Possibly even better!!!

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JoeEgg added 17:45 - Feb 10 "seems to be desperately trying to justify his position at every turn, he seems eager for people to like him and respect him, sadly I think he needs to just shut up " A close contest perhaps between our Nathan and Prince Harry!
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Rednose added 17:59 - Feb 10 Agree with f1, analysing every word just to beat him with it is not helpful. I don't believe he's come here to do us harm and I'm sure he's doing his best to help and get results that Ralph couldn't get either. He's simply and unfortunately inherited a team and situation that's been under achieving for a long time. Stand still in football and affectively you're going backwards. That's where we are, not Nathan Jones fault. He's just the one that's been handed the poopy end of the stick. So alas we are where we are. If we lose Saturday and he goes Monday, can anyone else save us? If we win on Saturday could that be a start of a 10 match run of Wins and PL survival? Que Sera, Sera, so the best we can do to help now is get behind NJ and the Team on Saturday, one voice of pure emotion and positive support. Like it or not for now it's Nathan Jones's Red & White Army. And maybe just maybe with the support, positivity and stance against adversity that as served us Saints fans so well in the past, that will be the secret ingredient that helps put everything back on the right track going forwards. COYR

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landsdownsaint added 18:06 - Feb 10 I think he realises that he’s been very lucky too land a PL job & underneath hasn’t hit a clue how too go about it , I read the interview today & he was on about very successful teams he was part of , he seems too be taking a dig at us too compensate for his own failure at saints
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GRIM added 19:00 - Feb 10 NJ said that Caleta Car was too "deconditioned " to feature in Brentford match. What a load of rubbish, he'd only missed one match thru suspension & had trained as normal, he was fit enough to play so why didn't he. Plus he was replaced by Jan Bednarek who has only played one full game this season prior to this match, if anyone was "deconditioned: it was Bednarek. NJ talks so much garbage & needs to pick his words more carefully. He should concentrate on getting results rather than making stupid statements.

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SanMarco added 19:02 - Feb 10 We have seen plenty of mouthy and egocentric managers over the years and some have been very successful. To get to the stage where you can mouth off like Jones does you have to have, say won the European Cup with Porto or the league with unfashionable Derby. Top half of the second division with Luton doesn't really cut it.
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bartley41 added 19:10 - Feb 10 It is essential that all the Saints Supporters get behind the team tomorrow, a win is a must. Once the game starts forget the problems around Mr Jones, I do now wonder if he is out of his depth and with his latest comments has he got a Mental condition? He is not able to handle the Media and as such is an embarrassment to the Club, I am sure that SR know what is going on but are most unlikely to admit they have got it wrong , time will tell. Meanwhile please, please get behind the team once the game starts.

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BornAsaint added 19:32 - Feb 10 NJ should be sponsored by Carlsberg “As he’s probably the best human in the world” Or really the worst person to do interviews in the world That as side, I really hope we do win tomorrow. Up the Saints!!!
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Colburn added 21:39 - Feb 10 Felly1 and Rednose, I totally agree.
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PezzaSaint added 22:54 - Feb 10 If his team talks are anything like his press conferences then it’s no wonder that the Team could get confused about what they’re supposed to be doing on the pitch! The more he talks the more weird he sounds 😳
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HythePeer added 23:37 - Feb 10 many teams get relegated because of player power!
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Block8 added 10:18 - Feb 11 I fully agree with Felly1 and Rednose and we are doing him, ourselves and SFC no favours with this rhetoric, which lets be honest is on the verge of bullying!
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StRipper added 12:47 - Feb 11 The evidence so far would seem to be that he isn't a nice man. In fact, he's a duplicitous, immature subjective ass. On top of being pretty shit at his job. He clearly treats different players differently ref the Caleta-Car treatment. Actually being divisive in his own squad just adds to the challenge facing Saints. We've got enough problems caused by the encroachment of Sports Republic into the footballing side and the huge ego that is Ankersen. Jones the incompetent narcissist thrown into the pot is not a combination that is ever going to benefit Saints football

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StRipper added 12:51 - Feb 11 On a side note, seems like there are quite a few relatively new "give Jones a chance" posters on here right now. Quelle surprise. Club appointed or Jones' mates?
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DPeps added 17:08 - Feb 11 The crumb of comfort is that Jones has to be a goner. Some of the starting line up shouldn't play again for a while
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eastlondonsaint added 18:37 - Feb 11 If results were going our way I wouldn't be arsed by his strange interviews and quotes. Far more interesting than the regular media trained dull responses.
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Ifonly added 09:44 - Feb 12 San Marco: "To get to the stage where you can mouth off like Jones does you have to have, say won the European Cup with Porto or the league with unfashionable Derby." No, Mourinho and Clough were mouthy gits before they won anything at all and remained mouthy gits when their teams were playing badly and losing. It's just who they were. Many other managers are similar but better media trained than NJ. Many of the most succcessful managers in have been mouthy gits. Ferguson, Revie and Shankly are others that spring to mind. The reality here is that people are looking for any stick to beat NJ with, for perfectly understandable reasons. If he was winning, he would be described as "charismatic", "honest", "energetic" and "driven". He'll have to wait until his next club to be described that way.

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jeffreestar added 09:48 - Jul 4 Hopefully, his focus returns to the game itself and helps him https://drift-hunters.org earn the respect and support needed to succeed in his role.
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