As the transfer window enters its final third, the question is can Saints survive without adding to the squad ? Shane Long thinks they can !
Saints striker Shane Long has spoken about how he feels that although a few new faces would not be a bad thing, that the squad can survive is the transfer window closes without Saints adding to the squad.
"I’m sure the club are doing all they can to get new faces in but I fully believe in the squad that’s here. We’ve got enough talent in the team,” Long said.
"The results aren’t going the right way but if we keep approaching it the way we are I’m sure it’ll turn around.”
He added: "Obviously if the club want to bring in a few players to help us out then that’s not a bad thing but the ability is here to turn things around.
"We’ve got a lot of good players. We might be light in one or two positions and I’m sure the manager would like to strengthen that up a bit. It’s how it goes in football; I don’t think a whole change in players would turn things around.”
I agree with Long to a point, he is right that the squad has the quality and is capable of winning games and pulling clear, but the reality is also that over the past few months we have continued to make the same mistakes game after game and have paid the price for that.
The departure of Virgil Van Dijk has left us short in the centre of defence and he desperately has to be replaced, too many goals are conceded through slack marking and lapses in concentration and Im sorry certain player might give 100% etc, but they cannot be taught too many new tricks and continue to let the team down at key moments, not because of a lack of effort or commitment, but the quality needed.
The proof of the pudding is in those results and too many games have seen soft goals conceded that have left us dropping points, yes I do sound like a broken record, I have been going on about it since September and it is still happening, no agendas as some suggest, just the evidence.
The issue isn't just about the quality of the squad though it is about how it is being managed and to be blunt Mauricio Pellegrino is not doing his job properly, he hasn't been since at least October and 1 win in 14 league games makes him statistically the worst manager we have ever had, but it stretches back further than that, it is only two wins in 18 games, that is nearly half a season, that is only 13 points, this is relegation form over a significant period.
The board have to look at the manager and realise that something has to change, give him a new player or two and that will be enough, but if we don't get any new signings, what is there to suggest that he can do anything different in the final 15 games of the season ? The stark answeris he has shown absolutely no sign of learning from his mistakes and continues to repeat them.
Yes bad luck plays a part, but you also have to make your own luck, but continually selecting the wrong starting line up and then failing to make key substitutions has seen too many games lost in the final third and too many points dropped because the manager has let his team run out of steam and cannot seem to spot where tired legs need replacing.
That is just as evident in the last match at Watford as it was three months ago. To be blunt he is out of his depth.
So Shane Long is right, this team has enough quality to stay up without adding to the squad, but if their are no new signings something does have to change and that is the manager.