Cédric Soares criticised Southampton’s mental strength and tactical naivety after the 3-2 defeat to Fulham deepened their relegation fears and heightened the pressure on the manager, Mark Hughes.
The right-back’s admission that he felt uncomfortable even after Stuart Armstrong’s early goal will do little to stop speculation over Hughes’s future. Southampton, who have won one of their first 13 league games, have dropped into the bottom three and Soares’s fears were confirmed when Fulham, finding inspiration in Claudio Ranieri’s first game since replacing Slavisa Jokanovic as manager, fought back to beat their relegation rivals at Craven Cottage.
“We were winning 1-0 and I had a feeling that we [would] get the 1-1 because we were very exposed, and then maybe after 1-1 our head was gone immediately,” Soares said. “We need to be more experienced in managing the game. It’s very small margins. When we concede we immediately get so down mentally, we get frustrated, maybe afraid to lose.”
Southampton made a strong start and went ahead Mitrovic won it for Ranieri’s struggling side with a firm volley in the 63rd minute and the disgruntled travelling fans sang about Hughes getting sacked in the dying stages.
“We were the better side but again we keep saying this, it’s the result that matters,” Soares said. “Three stupid goals. We have to try to push each other. We need to believe in ourselves.
“There are ups and downs in football and this seems to be a long down right now. We took a few risks. We had more possession and I think we created more chances but they were very clinical. We had a lot of opportunities and didn’t score.
“Everyone made some stupid decisions maybe. Sometimes we need to be more simple. We were a bit exposed because we were trying to take risks offensively.
“I’ve been here four years and for the last year and a half it has been a little bit like this. We are winning and we get a draw or lose.”
Hughes replaced Mauricio Pellegrino in March and kept Southampton in the Premier League last season. The former Stoke City manager was rewarded with a three-year deal in May Southampton’s board will want to see an improvement soon. Hughes’s side visit Leicester City in the delayed Carabao Cup fourth round tie on Tuesday and host Manchester United in the league on Saturday. “When we get a result I think we will have two or three wins,” Soares said.
Fulham drew level on points with Cardiff City and Southampton after starting the day bottom of the table. They have conceded 33 goals, the most in the division, but Ryan Sessegnon has already seen evidence of Ranieri’s team-building skills.
“He’s changed a lot of things,” the Fulham winger said. “We eat together, we leave together now. Before we used to come up to the canteen and eat and then just go. Now you can’t leave until everyone’s finished. It’s about keeping the team bonded. The warm-ups in training are all together, literally, we all have to follow each other in a pattern.
“Little things like that help on the pitch. Twelve new players came in and it was hard for us to gel. The team that got us promoted was a good team. For new players to gel with the players here before is really difficult.”
