Kyle Walker Peters
Walker-Peters, 27, recently gave his first interview after a summer rife with speculation about his potential permanent departure from the club. Despite being out of contract at the season’s end, the former Tottenham Hotspur player is focused on helping the Saints maintain their Premier League status. Walker-Peters conveyed a composed message despite the team securing only one point from nine matches.
Walker-Peters said “I think we really need to look at all the positives and try and build on them, and that’s what we’re doing. We knew it was going to be tough. We knew it wasn’t going to be smooth sailing, it wasn’t even in the Championship last season. We had tough times last season and we’re having a tough time now. We’ve actually spoken about that period where we went four games beaten and we spoke about how we bounced back from that. I think that’s in everyone’s minds, everyone’s aware that once we do get that first win, we should be flying. The manager is the same as always. He is focused on the task ahead and trying to give us the tools to improve and win the next game. I wouldn’t call it lazy narratives as they’re entitled to their opinion just as we are as a team and the management – the style of play is how the team wants to play. 100 per cent (Everton and Wolves are important). They’re the teams in and around us so we’ll be looking to get six points from those games. I’m 27 now so, I mean it’s still young, but I consider myself a senior player. I’ve played a lot of games in the Premier League. He’s got a lot of quality but you don’t want to put too much pressure on an 18 year old. I think he needs to just enjoy playing this football, learn as much as he can, and then I think the world is his oyster.”
Under the guidance of Martin, the Saints triumphed in securing promotion back to the Premier League via the play-offs and achieved a 1-0 victory over Leeds United. The team now faces crucial encounters against relegation rivals. Saints midfielder Adam Lallana has emphasized the necessity of victories in the Carabao Cup against Stoke City and the Premier League clash with Everton. He is pushing for consecutive wins to alleviate the mounting pressure on manager Martin. If the Saints fail to overcome another relegation contender in 19th-placed Wolves next weekend before the international break, the pressure could intensify.
