Shane Long said he would be “fully supportive” of Saints strike duo Che Adams and Danny Ings but insisted: “I’ve got a lot to give as well.” The Republic of Ireland international has seen his game time limited behind the two strikers this season, making just one start in 10 Premier League appearances. Long has totalled just 183 minutes in the division this campaign – his only full game coming against Fulham on Boxing Day. And while he admits Ings and Adams have been “brilliant”, the 33-year-old is ready to be called upon when needed.
Shane Long said: “I want to impose my story into the season, selfishly, but I feel like I’ve got a lot to give as well. I’m going to be fully supportive of Danny and Ché because they’ve been brilliant this season and deservedly playing week in week out, but I’m ready when called upon to come in and do a job for the team. I feel like I still have a lot to give, so hopefully there’s a lot more game time between now and the end of the season. I know there’s a lot of games squeezed in between now and then, so I’ll be ready and raring to go when called upon. It has been frustrating, but at the same time it’s been brilliant being part of a team that’s doing so well in the league, pushing towards the top of the table and expecting big things from ourselves. The self-belief is back in the squad again that we had under the Koeman era. It’s very much a case of being capable of producing an amazing season, and the lads are very confident of doing that. I want to be as much a part of that as I can – selfishly I want more game time, but if it’s minutes off the bench every now and then and us finishing high up the table, I’d take that as well.”
