JAN Bednarek has called on himself and his Saints teammates to improve their performance when they face Newcastle United this week, vowing: “We will cause them a lot of problems.” Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side were dismantled 4-0 in a match that could have seen an even higher score, when they travelled to Aston Villa on Saturday. Former Saints star Danny Ings was among the Villans who got on the scoresheet, with Ollie Watkins opening inside just nine minutes at Villa Park.
Jan Bednarek said: “One bad game doesn’t make us a bad team, so we know what was missing (at Villa). I’m pretty sure we will bring everything on track, we will perform on the highest level and get another three points. The result after a good run, only one bad game, hopefully we can perform at the highest level and show them how good a team we are.”
Eddie Howe’s Newcastle have also put on a stellar run and are undefeated in eight Premier League contests, dating back to the end of December. It has seen them rise from a relegation scrap to 14th. The Toon were able to invest during the January window, following their Saudi-backed takeover.
Jan Bednarek added: “We know we can perform very well so they will have a tough battle and we will cause them a lot of problems.”
Saints will hope the joint-heaviest defeat of their campaign was a one-off, after an impressive February saw Hasenhuttl nominated for the Premier League manager of the month award – as well as Howe.
Jan Bednarek added: “It wasn’t our best game. We were not aggressive enough, we just didn’t perform well enough. Against a team like Villa, that will cause you problems. They have massive quality up front. We were just not good enough, not good enough in the defence and not good enough up front so that was the result. If I knew (what the problem was), I probably would have done it. I don’t think the system, I think the aggressiveness, the willingness to defend, the energy. There are good days and bad days, I wouldn’t think any more about it, it’s in the past. Hopefully in the next game we can perform at the highest level, we have a few days to recover to be on our top form and hopefully we can win the next.”
The Villa clash also saw a chance for Bednarek to go up against international teammate and friend Matty Cash, who switched allegiances from England and was capped twice last year. The 24-year-old right-back was impressive throughout, and laid off well for Ings to complete the scoring in the second-half.
Jan Bednarek said: “Matty is a great player, great guy, it was great to meet him today. He played for the better team so it is what it is, hopefully with the national team we can get some great results together.”
