Southampton manager Ruben Selles has revealed that Gavin Bazunu was 'not happy' after being left out of the starting 11 for last night's Premier League clash with Bournemouth.
The Republic of Ireland international goalkeeper had started all 32 of the Saints Premier League games before Thursday's 1-0 defeat at home to the cherries.
Bazunu has come in for some criticism this season in what is his first campaign as a Premier League number one, with Southampton rooted to the foot of the table on 24 points after 33 games.
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The 21-year-old has a save percentage of just 54.2% for shots faced in the Premier League this season, a figure that puts him in the bottom percentile of goalkeepers in the top five European leagues (England, France, Germany, Spain, Italy) this season.
The reintroduction of veteran shot-stopper Alex McCarthy failed to result in a win for Southampton, and after the game, Saints boss Selles spoke about the decision to drop Bazunu.
"Of course he wasn't happy. But he understood the decision,” Selles said.
“He is the young goalkeeper with the most minutes in Europe as we have said and he's had a good season in the Premier League.
"But I made the decision together with the rest of the technical staff using some of the facts that we just need to give it a try. Alex has been training and competing really well and he showed us a good level today. The conversation has been clear and direct as usual with all three goalkeepers and with the direction that we took for the game.
"Alex has been working very well in the last weeks and he didn't have the chance to compete for the goalkeeper spot as he had injuries during the season. Finally five weeks ago he was able to train and compete for the position and he's been very good.
"We try to turn every stone in the team and see how we can make them better. Alex has been training well and he's a player that has been in these situations before.
"He helped the team some years ago to stay in the Premier League with his performances and we thought that was the correct game to bring him in and then give him the chance. That's what we did.”
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