ll the focus during the summer has been about those that have left and talk of a club decimated, but those who have stayed are looking forward to a bright future.

In June & July if you read social media sites you would have thought that Southampton Football Club was going to close down and go out of business, it was all about those that were leaving and usually there would be a bit of conscience easing by the likes of Lovren with talk about lack of ambition etc.

But those that were staying with Saints but have been a little riled, no one was giving them credit for what Saints has achieved last year, yes the departed had made a big contribution, but the likes of Jose Fonte, Nathaniel Clyne, Jack Cork, Wanyama, Steven Davis, James Ward Prowse etc had also made big contributions, yet these were seemingly forgotten as the media tried to make out that Saints were a five man team last season.

Now we know that was not the case and these players form the nucleus of a side which now has the addition of new blood, whether the new players make the contribution their predecessors did is yet to be discovered, but one thing is for sure the team spirit generated by the old guard who have stayed cannot fail but to help and inspire them.

Of course Saints are a work in progress and still gelling, but the team spirit was there for all to see at West Ham and there is a new attitude, this was the first game we have come from behind to win in over two years, last season if we didn't score first there seemed to be a lack of coviction in the team we could win, on Saturday there was a a steely determination so much so that the result was almost never in doubt once we pulled the goal back.

That steely determination is personified by new Captain Jose Fonte, he has raised his game a knotch and the responsibility as Captain seems to be spurring him on rather than being a millstone.

Already there seems to be a respect for Ronald Koeman and a feeling that there is more to come from the Dutchman who showed on Saturday that he is not afraid to adapt his team to the way the game is shaping up.

Fonte speaking to the Daily Echo said.

"For sure, we have lost some good players, but this team still has enough quality to have a strong season and with the additions the club were able to bring in, they have shown their potential,"

"You know that if you come to this club, you have to play and not be afraid to have the ball, to come and get it, to be dynamic.

"We have been training on that - the manager keeps talking to us about it.

"The manager came with a few, but important details - how he wants us to play and what he wants us to do.

"We have shown that we can do it, but we need to be consistent."

Fonte added: "It is hard to say where we can finish, but we have he quality to be very competitive.

"If we keep working hard and playing like this we can give ourselves a good chance to finish if not in the same position then higher."

To finish higher will be difficult, but certainly Saints can be there or thereabouts to the position they ended last season in, but more importantly they seem to be taking every game seriously, they see the cups as a way to building the club's staure and not as a hindrance to Premier league survival as clearly Mauricio Pochettino did, perhaps it was the Argentinians grounding as a manager at Espanyol where he was always fighting relegation, but Ronald Koeman seems to have a winners mentality about him, he knows what battles you need to win to win the war, he knows how to achieve it because he has done it before and he seems to have a quiet confidence about him that is speading throughout the team judging by Saturday.

At Upton Park it wasn't just the likes of Fonte who seemed rejuvenated nor the new players, but the likes of Yoshida and Ramirez, players who must have felt that whatever they did they would never be a regular under Pochettino seem now to have a buzz about them missing for a long time and that can't be bad.

Photo: Action Images

kuningan added 14:51 - Sep 1 Saints have played better in the second half of each of the matches so far, so yes, Koeman can adapt as the game progresses. This is something Pochetino couldn't and still can't do, as proved v. Liverpool on Sunday. No plan B!
1

thegeneral added 16:43 - Sep 1 All that said it still beats me why Corky hasn't been offered a new contract? It gives the impression that the board/club are not particularly grateful of his massive contribution last season and his attitude is highly commendable, for me a vital player.
3

Blogs 31 bloggers

Leicester City Polls