Matt Watts returns with his take on Southampton manager Nathan Jones and the latest happenings at St Mary's.
What an amazing night at St Mary’s to see Saints beat Manchester City with a resounding 2-0 win.
After a torrid time so far this season, a win away at Crystal Palace - albeit a fortunate one - on Saturday in the FA Cup followed by this quarter-final victory was very welcome relief.
Nathan Jones’s side really were the dominant force against a strong City outfit looking to progress to the semi-final of a competition they have won eight times before.
There was a distinct difference in the set-up and look of the team, with a buzz, confidence and determination that has been missing in recent weeks and for much of the season.
Credit to the team, the manager, his staff and everyone else involved in delivering the result. It does come after four defeats in the Premier League since former Luton Town boss Jones took charge and questions have been raised about what the future holds.
While there was a laboured win over Lincoln City in round four of the Carabao Cup in between those losses, that did little to shake of the unease about the look of the team over that period - understandably so in my opinion given some of the abject performances involved.
Fans can and should expect more from what should be a stable Premier League club which has new ownership and had an injection of funds during the summer transfer window.
People are also entitled to make their views known. Jones has fronted up to criticism from fans in recent weeks and so he has to as the figurehead. He surely understands the pressure of the managerial game in professional football.
But is hasn’t all been about him and not every fan or person with an interest in Southampton Football Club has personally targeted the manager. However, his tone and approach in interviews - his key tool in conversing with the fan base - has suggested he feels the Saints world is against him and him only.
For me personally, despite not being overawed by the appointment, I was willing upon the announcement to support the move by the club I follow and hope for a turnaround in fortunes. Many felt the same no doubt and still do.
However, there was also no getting away from the fact when he was given the job that the jury would be out given his lack of top level managerial experience and ill-fated spell at Stoke City where he achieved a win percentage of 15.8% in 38 games in the Championship before heading back to Luton.
This was also combined with the fact he had joined a club in a very challenging situation. So it therefore seems acceptable to have some concern about the future of the club’s Premier League status after four straight defeats and some abysmal displays in that time.
His interviews to this point have been poorly conducted - criticising fans for their discontent, championing his record in League One and the Championship with Luton, leading with a "they not we” mentality and broadcasting to the nation how he has effectively inherited a poor team which limits his responsibility.
It has done him no favours and he should think about displaying a bit more class and courtesy. Not every Saints fan will have been at games hurling personal abuse at him. What most care about and want to see if their team work hard, play well and win football matches. Yes there will be frustration but that’s part of supporting a football club for both the fans and the staff.
So how disappointing was it after such a momentous occasion to hear Jones talk after the game about his upset at being criticised by a non-league manager, his upset at being deemed inept and that he isn’t a magician.
If ever there was a time to give it a rest and move on it was then. I for one am not interested in this bleating. I would have been far more interested in some positivity, some discussion about his decisions and his delight in securing an excellent victory.
"I don't know if I changed perceptions or not. Within 10 minutes of the Brighton game, I was inept,” he said when addressing questions about how supporters would feel after the game. In terms of the Brighton performance, it most definitely was inept. So was the defeat at home to Nottingham Forest - worse in fact.
In comments reported by the Daily Echo
https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/23244903.southamptons-jones-responds-criticism
He went on: "The non-league manager who criticised me the other day. It baffled me, absolutely baffled me. I don't speak about Havant & Waterlooville or anyone down there. I don't have the disrespect to speak about levels I don't know about.”
I don’t blame him for wanting to hit back at someone who has disrespected him, but was there a need for it after his side had just beaten Manchester City in a quarter-final? Didn’t seem like the time or place to me and, to be fair, Jones has showed a fair amount of disrespect himself in his short time on the south coast.
In the same interview he also said: "I don’t know what people expect in four weeks, I am not David Blaine who can perform magic.”
What a wasted opportunity to simply share in a successful moment, of which he hasn’t yet had many as Saints boss. It’s time to move on and move forward. We want to hear only about how he will navigate the challenges ahead and pull Saints - his club - out of the relegation zone.
Ahead of Saturday’s trip to Everton, hopefully he can put his negative feelings about the fan base to one side and utilise his media opportunities to be positive, provide information about the team and his thought processes and provide a welcoming environment to the club’s supporters as opposed to taking swipes.