Sean Dyche Burnley
Posted in2021-2022-Season Daily News

#PLStories – Sean Dyche confident that Burnley squad is strong enough to survive in Premier League #BurnleyFC

October 5, 2021
BURNLEY boss Sean Dyche believes his squad has what it takes to bounce back from their poor start to the Premier League campaign. Dyche’s men find themselves in the drop zone after picking up three points from their opening seven fixtures. The Clarets brought in several fresh faces over the summer including Ivory Coast winger Maxwel Cornet from Lyon. And Dyche insists the squad is better equipped to handle the challenges of the top-flight this season. “I look at the squad, it’s a strong squad,” said the Burnley boss. “We’ve added players who can affect that. We need them fit obviously. “I think it’s a strong squad and I believe absolutely 100 percent in the players we’ve got. The performances are about a level of consistency. “We’ve ironed out a few things but I didn’t think (Norwich) threatened us too much on that side of things but we’ve got to add quality going into their box. “There were a lot of good signs from the defensive side of things.” Summer signing Nathan Collins made Premier League debut over the weekend in place of the injured Ben Mee. Dyche was pleased with the young defender's performance and is hopeful the club’s transfer business will pay off in the coming weeks and months. “I think we limited them to very little,” he added. “I’m pleased for (Collins) and I’m pleased for that unit. “We’ve just got to affect it at both ends, affect the attacking side of things, they’re the details we need to work on. “Maxwel has shown strong signs of affecting things and that will be interesting when we can get him back fully fit. There’s more to come.” The Clarets are back in action on Saturday, October 16 when they head to the Etihad to take on Manchester City (KO 3pm).
Ralph Hasenhuttl
Posted in2021-2022-Season Daily News

#PLStories – Ralph Hasenhuttl confident about improvement in Southampton’s performance after International Break #SaintsFC

October 5, 2021
BOSS Ralph Hasenhuttl vowed Saints would graft across the international break as they look to up their Premier League points tally later this month. The St Mary’s side have already featured against the likes of Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea during a difficult opening run of fixtures. Saints have picked up four points from their opening seven league contests and are yet to win in the division thus far. Hasenhuttl, however, insisted his side would come back with “all the effort we have put in so far” in a bid to get wins on the board. Asked what the main topic would be on the training field over the next two weeks, the Saints boss said: “Get some energy. It cost us a lot last week, I think. “Then come back with all the effort we have put in so far and try to win games – this is the key.” He added: “Like always at first, a little bit of recovering. It was tough in the past week. We should keep our heads up and then concentrate and work on being competitive. “We had a tough schedule at the beginning. We had all the tough teams in the moment but we showed we can be competitive.” Saints are next in action when they host Leeds United at St Mary’s on October 16. The south coast side then host Burnley, another side yet to register a league victory this season, on October 23.
Ralph Hasenhuttl
Posted in2021-2022-Season Daily News

#PLStories – Ralph Hasenhuttl reveals satisfaction in Southampton’s performance despite losing to Chelsea #ChelseaFC #SaintsFC

October 3, 2021
MANAGER Ralph Hasenhuttl saw captain James Ward-Prowse sent off for Saints at Chelsea and insisted: “He knows he didn’t help us.” The 26-year-old looked set to drive his team on to at least avoid defeat at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, having slotted home from the penalty spot to make it 1-1 against the European champions. But having cancelled out Trevoh Chalobah’s early opener in the capital, Ward-Prowse was then shown red for a foul on Jorginho 13 minutes from time, following a VAR check. It was just the second time he had been sent off in his career – the first in a 2-1 defeat at Sunderland in the Premier League back in 2015. Asked whether Ward-Prowse was apologising for his part following the defeat, Hasenhuttl said: “Yeah, sure. He’s the captain and he knows he didn’t help us today. “But, yes, I mean no reason to be angry about this. “We showed really some good performance and it’s a pity we couldn’t finalise it – that is the pity.” Following Ward-Prowse’s sending off, Thomas Tuchel’s side netted through Timo Werner and ben Chilwell to wrap up all three points. Ward-Prowse is now set to also be hit with a three-game ban following the dismissal.
Timo Werner Chelsea
Posted in2021-2022-Season Daily News

#PLStories – Thomas Tuchel reveals relief that Timo Werner goal was not disallowed by VAR #ChelseaFC

October 3, 2021
THOMAS Tuchel has revealed Chelsea's "relief" at Timo Werner scoring his first Premier League goal since February. Werner tapped in Cesar Azpilicueta's cross with the goal that effectively sealed Chelsea's 3-1 win over 10-man Saints at Stamford Bridge. Ben Chilwell then fired in a late third to atone for conceding a penalty that was converted by James Ward-Prowse to tee up a tense finale. Ward-Prowse was later sent off for a late tackle on Jorginho, and Chelsea pounced on the numerical advantage to move top of the Premier League table. Werner has seen a league-high 16 goals disallowed since joining Chelsea in 2020, the latest of which came in the first half against Saints. Tuchel hailed Werner for his persistence, but also admitted the Germany striker must still improve. "Yes we are all relieved, him and me and the whole club," said Tuchel. "Every time he scores we have the feeling there is a VAR decision to take it away from him, there have been a lot of very narrow decisions. "I remember one against Liverpool that was super close. "He has to keep on going and a lot of things to improve. "We're happy and relieved that he scored. "It was very, very important goal for us to secure the win. And on the other hand he was there when he needed to be."
Ralph Hasenhuttl
Posted in2021-2022-Season Daily News

#PLStories – #ThomasTuchel reveals personality of #RalphHasenhuttl as a funny person #ChelseaFC #SaintsFC

October 2, 2021
CHELSEA boss Thomas Tuchel is looking forward to meeting up with "very funny guy" Ralph Hasenhuttl when Saints visit Stamford Bridge tomorrow. The pair previously worked in the Bundesliga at the same time when Hasenhuttl's Leipzig faced off against Tuchel's Borussia Dortmund. Speaking to the Daily Echo last week, Hasenhuttl revealed he also watched the Ryder Cup in Paris with Tuchel in 2018, when the now-Chelsea boss was in charge of PSG. Asked about his relationship with Hasenhuttl, Tuchel said: "We meet each other now regularly because we played against each other in the Bundesliga and now here and we met once in Paris for some days, we meet of course in coaches’ meetings. "He’s a very friendly, very nice guy, very humble, very entertaining also, a very funny guy. "The teams he trains have always the same philosophy. It’s high intensity, it’s very aggressive, it’s about ball recoveries and this is on a very high level. "They have a very fast team, a very aggressive team, they had good results against both Manchester teams, so this is what we are expecting, a good team with a good coach and a nice guy, but that does not count for 90 minutes." Tuchel added: "We have developed some ideas and some solutions of course to deal with this high pressure. In general you need to be absolutely aware of it. "You don’t have time to think when you’re on the ball, we need to anticipate situations, we need to be very good in the timing and distance of our passing, if we want to escape high pressure in our own half. "It can also be a possibility to use long balls to escape high pressing, but then you need to have a good position before. The most important thing is that we are aware and that we don’t judge teams by their name or their ranking or their previous results, but we talk about what we see and their behaviour and we need to be aware of an aggressive and an intense team. "We want to also have the answer to the pressing from Southampton with counter-pressing and to give them a taste of their own medicine, also because it is a part of our game."
Ralph Hasenhuttl
Posted in2021-2022-Season Daily News

#PLStories – #RalphHasenhuttl remembers opportunity to play with Chelsea under #GlenHoddle #SaintsFC #ChelseaFC

October 2, 2021
RALPH Hasenhuttl recalled a brief period he spent training under Glenn Hoddle at Chelsea, admitting: "It's absolutely understandable that he didn't sign me!" Hasenhuttl is set to take Saints to Stamford Bridge tomorrow (3pm), having proven his qualities to become a Premier League manager. But it was not quite the same story as a player, when the Austrian international striker attempted to impress at Hoddle's Blues during the 1990s. Asked if he was upset that Hoddle did not offer him a contract, Hasenhuttl replied: "Does he remember this!? That I was there once? "Oh my God. I don’t know, I was not such a big number to be honest. "So it’s absolutely understandable that he didn't sign me, to be honest! "For the qualities I had, I don't know! "I would really like to have played in the Premier League, definitely. "And if he had told me at that time that I will return one time as a manager in a Premier League club, I would think he was a little bit crazy. "So I did it and this is fantastic because I always loved English football and to be here as a manager I can definitely accept that I wasn't good enough as a player! "It's even better that I'm good enough as a manager to be here." Hasenhuttl is unbeaten at Stamford Bridge as a manager at Saints, registering one win and two draws so far.
Tino Livramento
Posted in2021-2022-Season Daily News

#PLStories – #ThomasTuchel reveals Chelsea tried hard to keep #TinoLivramento before transfer to Southampton #ChelseaFC #SaintsFC

October 2, 2021
THOMAS Tuchel insists Chelsea did "everything" to try and keep Tino Livramento at the club this summer. The highly-rated academy product opted to leave his boyhood club to join Saints, in a deal reportedly worth an initial £5million. Teenager Livramento, who never made a senior appearance at Chelsea, has proven to be a revelation at Saints, starting every Premier League match so far. He looks set to face his former club tomorrow, when Saints head to Stamford Bridge. Discussing Livramento, Blues boss Tuchel said: "He was highly rated, we did everything to keep him here, to show him his future and his possibilities to compete also for a position in our team. He decided to go, that’s his decision, sometimes you have to accept it, there are no hard feelings. "He was of course competing with Reece James and Azpi (Cesar Azpilicueta) in the right-wing-back position. I think it was an ideal position for him to fight and the group is not too big so there was a big chance also to make it all the way. "If Tino decided to go, it’s fair enough, he does very well, we wish him all the best. Of course we saw the potential, he decided to go another way and fight for his place in Southampton and that’s how the business is."
Ben Mee Burnley
Posted in2021-2022-Season Daily News

#PLStories – #BenMee reveals confidence in surviving bad start to the season (similar to last season) #BurnleyFC

October 1, 2021
BURNLEY captain Ben Mee insists he and his team-mates aren’t panicking after taking two points from their opening six matches and believes they can draw on experiences of seasons gone by to turn things around. Only Norwich - this weekend’s visitors to Turf Moor - sit below Burnley in the embryonic standings of the Premier League, but Mee says the Clarets are used to overcoming troughs in form. They had to wait until their eighth league game for a win in the last campaign but finished 11 points clear of the relegation zone, and Mee feels their displays then were inferior to what they have produced in recent weeks. He said: “I think it would play on our minds a bit more if we weren’t playing well and we were really struggling and not being able to get going. But it’s not been the case. We’ve actually had some really good performances. “I don’t think the performances were quite there last season (early on), I think we were getting beaten probably deservedly a lot of the time. But this season there’s a bit of a change in performances and energy. “We’ve been in the situation a lot previously, we don’t want to be but we have been. We’re experienced as players, we’ve got the same players that have been here for a long time and have been through these experiences. “We’re usually underdogs going into every game so it’s no different for us. We all know ourselves as players, where we’re at and where we need to be and how we need to move up the table. “I’ve got every confidence that we will – we’re a good side. We’ve got a good squad, it feels like the squad’s come together well and that improves the feeling round the place.” Burnley twice went ahead at Leicester last Saturday but settled for a 2-2 draw after being pegged back by a Jamie Vardy double, while Chris Wood’s last-gasp headed goal was chalked off for offside. It is the fourth game where Burnley have let slip a one-goal lead this term while they have conceded 11 times this season, and Mee admitted he and the rest of the backline need to improve. He added: “We need to do better, we know that. We’ve got a good unit defensively, a good unit as a group, as a team. “Maybe we’re playing a little bit more open, scoring a few more goals, that’s maybe contributing towards conceding a few more. We’ll get it right, we’re certainly looking at it and working on it. “We can do a job in this league, we have done for many years and we just need to get our focus back as a whole unit, as a team as well.” Burnley can give themselves a boost while looking to deepen the gloom at newly-promoted Norwich, who have lost all six matches on their return to the top-flight. Mee said: “I fully expect us to go to our ground full of confidence and take the game to them and show we are favourites and dominate the game. “I hope we will and I’m fully confident we will.”
Ralph Hasenhuttl
Posted in2021-2022-Season Daily News

#PLStories – #RalphHasenhuttl challenges #StuartArmstrong to fight for his place in playing 11 #SaintsFC

October 1, 2021
BOSS Ralph Hasenhuttl challenged fit-again Stuart Armstrong to show he can be the influential player he was for Saints last season again this time around. The Scotland international this week returned to training, following a troublesome calf injury. Armstrong has not featured for Saints since pre-season due to the issue. But he may be involved this weekend, when Saints head to Chelsea, seeking a first Premier League win of the season. This campaign has seen the likes of Mohamed Elyounoussi, Moussa Djenepo, Nathan Redmond and Theo Walcott fill the attacking roles in which Armstrong will look to force his way in to. And despite providing five goals and six assists, as well as filling in in a deeper midfield role last season, Hasenhuttl has hinted Armstrong will not walk straight back into the side. Asked how much Saints have missed the Scot in recent months, boss Hasenhuttl said: "It is always good when you have everybody on board and can select what qualities you need. "I think Stuey had a tough pre-season and then with the injury it took much longer than we all expected. "It was a big setback for him personally also. In football, when you are not part of the sessions and you cannot develop yourself, then it’s tough to come back. "I think it’s important now for him that he sees he has to work hard to come back in the team." Hasenhuttl added: "Yes, I know that he can score goals. Yes, I know that on the 10 position he is a player that was important for us in the past. "On this level he has to come back. There is a lot of work to do for him I think. "Hopefully he sees this and he invests everything so that he comes back to the level he has been."
Ralph Hasenhuttl
Posted in2021-2022-Season Daily News

#PLStories – #RalphHasenhuttl wants Southampton to take their limited chances when playing against Chelsea #SaintsFC #ChelseaFC

October 1, 2021
CHELSEA go into Saturday’s contest with Saints on the back of a rare two consecutive losses and without a win in three, as Ralph Hasenhuttl highlights: “It’s a very important game for them now.” Thomas Tuchel’s Champions League-winning Blues have been on the receiving end of back-to-back 1-0 losses, but they were against reigning English champions Manchester City and Italian giants Juventus. Before that, they drew 1-1 with Aston Villa in the Carabao Cup and needed penalties to edge past the Birmingham side. The result has seen Liverpool, who are the only unbeaten team remaining, climb to the top of the Premier League table at this early stage – but Hasenhuttl knows that Tuchel will be keen to put right those wrongs and keep pace with the title-challengers. Read more  Speaking ahead of the contest, the Austrian boss said: “Yeah I think for them is a very important game now and that they lost twice I think unusual to have this situation. It ends in defeat in Turin. #JUVCHE pic.twitter.com/WHYXBdznT8 — Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) September 29, 2021 “For us it's again a game against one of the top six top teams in the league, a Champions League winner, a little bit under pressure after two times not winning and we go there like every year with a lot of respect, but also believing in what we are doing and this is how we want to create another positive result in this ground.” Saints themselves go into the affair off the back of a first loss in all competitions since the opening day of the season, but still without a win – a run that could now stretch into the second international break of the term. Moussa Djenepo clapped fans as he exited the field after defeat to Wolves (Pic: PA) Hasenhuttl’s side haven’t hit the net in three, either, with two 0-0 draws against good opposition before going into the Wolves fixture at St Mary’s. He added: “Yep this is right, don't know what hurts more, when you have the chances but don't score or you don't create chances. “For me, as a manager sometimes it's better to see that we have chances but in the end there are some things missing, especially our filling up the box is not always good enough with players and I don't think that we will get that many chances against Chelsea at the weekend. German defender Antonio Rudiger has flourished under Thomas Tuchel (Pic: PA) “A completely different game against a strong side but yeah this is what we have analysed after the game, knowing that on this weekend we have to have different things to deliver I think. “I think it was 60 minutes a good game from our side (against Wolves), we had maybe the bigger chances but after the goal, last 30 minutes, we couldn't manage to create again chances and turn things around. “I think a few we had but not enough against a defending team, very disappointing result for us, a setback a little bit after four very good games we played and yeah we have to turn things around, especially our goal scoring stats are not the highest at the moment so we have to work on this.”
Nathan Tella
Posted in2021-2022-Season Daily News

#PLStories – #RalphHasenhuttl reveals qualities of #NathanTella and his chances of getting gamete with Southampton #SaintsFC

September 30, 2021
THE answer to Nathan Tella’s lack of gametime may lie in how Ralph Hasenhuttl views his best position, although the boss assures: “He will get his chance, even in the Premier League.” The former Arsenal academy man looked like he’d made his name in Saints’ first team squad a brief prolific spell in the B team, going on to feature 18 times in the Premier League. He got his first top flight goal against Fulham, and went from strength to strength in a good pre-season campaign. great win and a good team performance today. Delighted to get my first PL goal and assist #SaintsFC pic.twitter.com/uPqhyD7nLE — tella (@NathanTella_11) May 15, 2021 But now the 22-year-old has been limited to just one substitute appearance in the Premier League of just ten minutes, scoring and assisting in two EFL Cup matches too. Read more  Hasenhuttl has persisted with the likes of Nathan Redmond and Moussa Djenepo on the wings in injured Stuart Armstrong’s absence, and he may have given away the answer as to why it hasn’t been Tella. Speaking in an earlier press conference, the Austrian said: “I must say that, in the ten positions, he has a lot of good qualities to play there. “He is very energetic and he has a really good ability against the ball, running back and sprinting back. Nathan Tella's only appearances since the opening day of the campaign have been in the EFL Cup (Pic: PA) “In this position though, you need to keep the ball a little bit more and to be a little bit cooler. He is like a young horse who wants to run, he wants to run at defenders and he wants to get behind the last line. “It will help him if he can get a little closer to the goal,” before adding crucially: “I see him as a striker. “But he can play as a ten, yes. “We have a lot of alternatives up front, so it will not be easy but he is still on my list. He is an alternative for Adam Armstrong, who does a very good job up front. He will get his chances to play.” 👉🏾😃👈🏾 pic.twitter.com/NMEzDwgeGd — tella (@NathanTella_11) August 25, 2021 Stevenage-born Tella is highly thought of both internally and externally at Saints, touted as the best academy product they’ve produced in the last few years. But with the preferred options of Adam Armstrong, Che Adams and even loanee Armando Broja – is that why he has seen so little action? Hasenhuttl added: “We saw last season that Nathan was a young player who was by far the most developed of the younger group and he had a really good pre-season, also. This despite the youngster having an impressive pre-season (Pic: Stuart Martin) “I am actually a little bit disappointed at the moment that I cannot give him more chances to play. The games that we are playing at the moment are not perfect for him, I think. “As always with young players, he must consistently work hard and show up to get those chances to play. “He will get his chances to play, even in the Premier League.” Up until April 2017, Tella was playing for Arsenal in the Under-18 Premier League, before he was told that he wouldn’t receive a professional deal at the end of his scholarship and he signed for Saints.
James Ward Prowse
Posted in2021-2022-Season Daily News

#PLStories – #JamesWardProwse understands Southampton fan frustrations but believes recovery will happen soon #SaintsFC

September 30, 2021
SAINTS skipper James Ward-Prowse admits he can understand frustrations and that hearing supporters inside St Mary’s boo is “difficult to hear,” but adds: “I think we played well enough to win.” A few jeers rang out around the ground, albeit not from every corner or pocket, as referee Andy Madley blew the full-time whistle on Saints’ first defeat in all competitions since the opening day of the season. Raul Jimenez’s second-half strike was the only really convincing effort on goal from either side in the whole game, although Tino Livramento found himself in a good pocket of space and was able to strike at Jose Sa in net. But it was a game of nearly once again for Saints, who now haven’t scored in 270 minutes of Premier League action. Read more On the full-time fan reaction, Ward-Prowse told the Daily Echo: “It’s difficult to hear, we can understand why the fans are frustrated. Midfielder Oriol Romeu applauded fans at the end of the Wolves contest (Pic: PA) “But we are only six games into a very long season and I think we played well enough to win the game, we just lacked that killer punch going forward that alluded us slightly. “We got done with one long ball to lose the game so that was obviously disappointing but we have a lot more games to come, we have had a lot of new additions to the team so we are still gelling and finding our way. “That first win at the weekend would be nice.” James Ward-Prowse has started in each of the last three at Stamford Bridge, an unbeaten run that has harboured five points (Pic: PA) The result means Saints are still one of five teams without a win so far in the 2021-22 Premier League season, but of those five they do have the most points and vastly superior goal difference that perhaps displays they’ve only been marginally off it. It will feel like a long wait for a win in the supporters view, though, as thanks to behind-closed-doors fixtures the last time they witnessed a league win with their own eyes was December 13 2020. Quizzed if he understands the frustrations, even if it is early days, Ward Prowse insisted: “Of course we do, we all want to win every game, of course we do. “But we have shown the improvement from last season in terms of our defensive stability and the discipline we have got. “We have got a couple of clean sheets, we’ve progressed in the cup, we’ve taken some points off some very good teams and Sunday was a kick in the teeth, but we have got a great opportunity Saturday to put that right.”