NATHAN Jones revealed he had asked his players for a few “key things” following his arrival at Saints but admitted: “They’re not going to suddenly love me after a day.” The new Saints boss was speaking after being unveiled as the successor to Ralph Hasenhuttl on Thursday. Jones is set to take to the dugout for the first time with his new squad, when the St Mary’s side visit Liverpool in the Premier League tomorrow (3pm). But the former Luton Town boss admitted it would take time to build relationships with the group he has inherited this week. Asked what the reaction from the players has been like since his arrival,
Nathan Jones said: “I think really positive. I think all I do, look I haven’t done anything ground-breaking. I’ve addressed them, asked them for a few key things. Not many, just a few key things and then we’ll build relationships. They’re not going to suddenly love me after a day. I left a group that knew I cared about them (at Luton). Knew I invested in them. Knew I dedicated pretty much every element of my life into making them better and inadvertently making the team and the club better and that’s what I’ll do here. So, they know they have a manager that’s going to care for them and is going to try to make them better. Then all I have to do is make sure that my work is good enough to win that respect and I’m pretty sure it will be.”
A point could take Saints out of the bottom three in the Premier League table. Liverpool go into the contest eighth in the standings.
