Ruben Selles
Posted in2022-2023-Season Daily News

#PLStories- Southampton’s Ruben Selles responds to report of Salisu commitment issue #SAINTSFC

April 15, 2023
The 23-year-old has played just once in eight Premier League games under Selles before and after the recent international break. Salisu was injured in the build-up to the break but played 83 minutes versus Tottenham Hotspur before going away with Ghana and coming back with a hip abductor problem. However, a recent report elsewhere detailed that Salisu – whose current Saints contract expires next summer – has been left out of the squad due to doubts over his commitment. READ MORE: Saints team news with striker set to remain absent for huge Crystal Palace test Selles faced questions on whether the defender was being left out for this reason and responded: “He had some problems in the past for us for example in game against Chelsea. When he went to the national team he felt it again. “When he came back we had to put him into the injury process. He was expected to play today for the B team to try to solve problem but he didn’t feel great so he’s not available either.” The Spaniard added: “The injury I think is related with his hip - his adductor. There has been some problems from before. From during the season also. And it just gets worse. So they are just trying to take the therapy with that.” Probed again if he has any problem with his attitude, Selles responded: “He’s an injured player. We cannot have an issue with the attitude if he is injured, so we talk about the players that are available. “Salisu unfortunately is not available for us, so the issues for the attitude will be for the players who are with us working and trying to compete for the win.”
Gary O’Neil
Posted in2022-2023-Season Daily News

#PLStories- Gary O’Neil on Jordan Zemura’s decision to leave AFC Bournemouth #AFCB

April 15, 2023
Despite having played a key role this season, Zemura was earlier this week informed he would no longer be allowed to train with the club’s first team, instead being sent to work with the development squad. That decision came as a result of Italian club Udinese informing Cherries they were in talks with the Zimbabwean over signing him a free transfer. Then on Wednesday, the Serie A outfit confirmed Zemura would join them in the summer, when his contract at Cherries expired. The Daily Echo understands Cherries’ final contract offer to the 23-year-old was made eight weeks ago after drawn out negotiations, with the proposed deal in excess of £30,000 per week, alongside additional bonuses and achievable salary rises. This offer, one of numerous the club made over the past 15 months, was not been acknowledged by either Zemura or his representatives. It is understood Cherries had not been officially informed that a deal had been struck with Udinese, finding out when it was announced on social media. Asked if he feels let down by Zemura for the way his departure has transpired, Cherries head coach O’Neil told the Daily Echo: “All of it is out now, so you all have a real clear picture of the situation. “I don’t feel any way about it. As a footballer you have decisions to make and you make them and you do what you think is best for yourself. “My responsibility is to do what I think is best for the team and the group and the club. “It is the same with any situation that I deal with really. No real feelings about it, just what is best for the group and how do we give ourselves the best chance of staying up at the end of the season.” Asked if Zemura’s situation had been a distraction to him and the squad, O’Neil insisted: “No. Nothing will distract me and the group from the task at hand, I can guarantee you that. “There will be no shift in focus. It will be 100 per cent, from the moment that I took over until the end of the season.” O’Neil added: “I think you guys know most of it now, if not all of it. I think it’s all out. “The club have always been really aligned in how we see it. “Jordan will move on and play for another club next season. As always, my focus is on the group and making sure that everybody is ready for the weekend. “We’ve made decision that it’s best at this moment for Jordan to train with the under-21s and that will remain until it doesn’t.”
Gary O’Neil
Posted in2022-2023-Season Daily News

#PLStories- AFC Bournemouth’s Gary O’Neil calls for more work from team as they slowly climb up #AFCB

April 15, 2023
Cherries have picked up four wins in their last eight Premier League outings, taking them to 30 points from 30 top-flight games this campaign. Despite frequently being labelled as certs for relegation, Cherries sit above the dotted line, poised in 15th place with eight games to go. However, O’Neil and his charges are well aware that they are not safe just yet. O’Neil shared: “We've had a decent little run, I think, but we haven't achieved anything yet. “There's probably still a few people that think we could still go down to the Championship, so there's still an awful lot of work to be done from this moment. “We have eight very big games, starting with the one tomorrow against another very good side. “The points tally over the last eight has been decent, especially considering the teams that we had to play in there - Brighton, Arsenal, Man City, Liverpool, some real tough fixtures in there. “So to put the points on the board that we have has been good, but still an awful lot of work that needs to be done from this point on. Asked what has caused Cherries’ uptick in form, O’Neil responded: “We've kept working. We haven't really changed too much, as in the way we work or the way we play. “We haven't changed anything, actually. “We've just managed to improve it. “We've had a lot of players come back from injury and we've signed a few, so the group is stronger, there's a little bit more competition for places, we have more depth. “So in that spell after the World Cup, we were short. “We're not so short at the moment, so we've been very competitive in most of our last few matches and we are looking to do the same again tomorrow.”
Gary O’Neil
Posted in2022-2023-Season Daily News

#PLStories- Gary O’Neil explains Dango Ouattara’s withdrawal against Leicester #AFCB

April 9, 2023
Ouattara struggled at King Power Stadium, with Marcus Tavernier warming up on the sidelines from early in the contest. O’Neil made the switch on 38 minutes, Tavernier coming on for Ouattara on the left wing. Two minutes later, Philip Billing scored what proved to be the only goal of the contest. Quizzed on why he made the early switch, O’Neil told the Daily Echo: “It was just a tactical thing. I just felt it would be better for the team.” Asked if he regretted starting Ouattara, given Tavernier was seen out warming up early in the contest, O’Neil said: “I hadn’t asked Tav to warm up. I’m guessing the subs were warming up because they were just warming up. “Obviously we have to be careful with Tav at the moment. “I just decided at 33 minutes or whenever it was that wasn’t the time to be careful with Tav anymore and played him for maybe slightly longer than we should have. “But I felt there was a real opportunity for us today to grasp a big win. “So, nothing against Dango at all. He works his socks off, always. He’s an honest lad. “Obviously he’s only just arrived. He’s had an incredible impact on the group. His number of assists, his work-rate. Today I just felt like Tav would be able to give us something down that side.” O’Neil added: “I felt there was an opportunity of us in that first half. I felt we needed to show a little bit more of an urgency, even though we had control. “That was my thinking behind the substitution. Tav was generally only meant to come on at half-time, or later. “I just felt we needed some urgency and punish Leicester in that first half really, where we had so much control. “Because at half time they can fix a few things and the second half doesn’t always look the same. So it was important we managed to get a goal at that point.”
Joe Aribo
Posted in2022-2023-Season Daily News

#PLStories- Southampton FC outcast Aribo shares reasoning for extended absence #SAINTSFC

March 28, 2023
The Nigerian international was signed from Rangers in the summer for an initial fee of around £6m. And Aribo immediately established himself as a crucial member of Ralph Hasenhuttl’s team, appearing in each of the 14 Premier League games under the Austrian while starting ten of those. But following Hasenhuttl’s sacking shortly before the World Cup break, Aribo saw his minutes decline under Nathan Jones as he started just one of the eight games with the former Luton boss at the helm. READ MORE: Concern grows over Saints defender with second straight international absence Things have only gotten worse since Ruben Selles took over from Jones with Aribo not even making the matchday squad for the Spaniard’s six games. Currently away with Nigeria for their Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers home and away against Guinea-Bissai, it’s now been 86 days since Aribo last started in the Premier League. While he confirmed that he is fit to play, Aribo told Elegbete TV Sports that he is staying patient and waiting for the right timing. “It’s coach’s decision,” Aribo said of his lack of playing time. “I think every single coach has their own opinion on things.  “For me, I’m not really too fussed or too fazed because it’s all processes, it’s growing pains. I just need to be patient and just wait on god’s timing - which is perfect.” “Of course, it’s difficult,” he added about going from being a regular at Rangers to limited minutes with Saints.  “For any normal human it would be difficult. But for me, I don’t let that affect me too much. I’m pretty strong minded so how I deal with disappointment is I kind of use it to charge me and just try to improve the best I can.  “Again, it’s god’s plan. So at the end of the day, I shouldn’t stress, I should just have faith.”
Gary O’Neil
Posted in2022-2023-Season Daily News

#PLStories- Gary O’Neil disappointed with impact of subs at Villa #AFCB

March 20, 2023
With injury woes easing, Cherries’ squad has been bolstered in recent weeks, with O’Neil blessed with a bench of nine full internationals at the weekend. After a poor first-half display, in which the hosts led 1-0 through Douglas Luiz, O’Neil opted against turning to his bench at the break. He made a double switch just before the hour mark, introducing Hamed Traore and Antoine Semenyo in place of Joe Rothwell and Jaidon Anthony. David Brooks was the next man to come on, with 11 minutes to play. But none of the trio could haul Cherries back into contention, with Villa going on to score twice more to go 3-0 up. Kieffer Moore and Matias Vina were then brought on in stoppage time, as the hosts closed out the win. Asked if he was tempted to make any substitutions at half-time, O’Neil told the Daily Echo: “We threw a couple on early, 55 minutes or something. “Obviously they didn’t have the impact that we’d have hoped. It didn’t make us any better at that point. “At 1-0, I felt that we were right in the game. But we needed to take one of our situations and we didn’t. “I felt there was a game there that if we’d have grabbed it more by the scruff of the neck and we’d have shown some quality in the final third, we could’ve hurt Aston Villa.” With Adam Smith withdrawn as the game approached its final 10 minutes, Cherries fell apart defensively. Jacob Ramsey and Emi Buendia both scored, while Tyrone Mings also went close and Villa had a goal ruled out. Discussing the final 10 minutes of the fixture, O’Neil said: “I’m really disappointed. “There is a risk of that, of course, when you try and get as many attacking players on as we did. “But I was disappointed it changed the way the game is now seen. “Because it wasn’t like that for a very long spell. “We need to make sure that in that situation it doesn’t turn that way.”
Ruben Selles
Posted in2022-2023-Season Daily News

#PLStories- Ruben Selles admits Southampton side lost ‘principles’ in Brentford defeat #SAINTSFC

March 16, 2023
Goals from Ivan Toney and Yoanne Wissa saw the St Mary’s side remain rooted to the bottom of the Premier League despite a positive start to Selles’s managerial career. Saints had kept a clean sheet and earned a point at Manchester United’s Old Trafford on the weekend – a third shut-out in four matches – but problems in front of goal persist. The Bees, managed by Thomas Frank, also hammered Saints 3-0 just last month during the closing stages of Nathan Jones’s tenure. This result leaves Saints with only 11 matches to save their Premier League status, needing to make up two points on those in safety. “We came here to our stadium with the belief we could make a good performance and get the three points,” Selles said, speaking after the match. “We didn’t manage the key moments of the game. We had a clear plan on how to do it and we showed this with principles in the last third, but we lost a little bit of those principles and the consequence of that was we didn’t have situations in the box.” He added: “We have been working on scoring goals and we are not a team that will score a massive amount, but we can still get much better in the last third. “We are working on it but it shows we are still fragile in that, we lost a bit of our structure and we need to work on keeping our structure and principles. “In the second (Brentford) goal, we lost the structure and it was a long ball and second action. This can happen when you’re chasing the game, so we need to be better.” Selles, however, reiterated his belief that Saints can beat the drop and avoid playing Championship football for the first time in over a decade next season. “We are absolutely confident but we need to stop making mistakes in set-plays, be solid there and then we will find the goals to stay in the Premier League, no doubt about it,” he said. “It is not only for us, but it is also for everybody in the Premier League that one mistake can lead to one goal, two mistakes are two goals and more mistakes are more goals. “We just need to keep doing the things that keep us moving away from relegation, and we will have games like this where we lose our structure. "We need to keep it more often and stay competitive more often when it is not in our favour, that is where we need to learn.”
Gary O’Neil
Posted in2022-2023-Season Daily News

#PLStories- AFC Bournemouth’s Gary O’Neil shares players’ cheeky request for time off after win against Wolves #AFCB

February 18, 2023
Marcus Tavernier’s second-half goal was enough for Cherries to record their first win in 10 games, taking all three points via the 1-0 scoreline at Molineux. After a tricky run of results that saw Cherries drop into the drop zone, the win saw the Dorset outfit rise to 17th ahead of West Ham’s fixture with Tottenham on Sunday. Asked what the mood was like in the dressing room following the result, O’Neil quipped: “They enjoyed it. Of course they enjoyed it. “They asked for Monday off, I said no! “You have to win more than one game to get a day off, lads!” Whilst Cherries’ performances have improved in recent weeks, results had not, with O’Neil maintaining that belief was high in camp. “They enjoyed the win, of course, because they've been working so hard the last few weeks and I've been telling them that it's coming. “They have a real belief in the group that that we can cause team's problems. “See, I'm delighted for them because, as I've said before, sometimes I have to come in here and explain how well they've done and how hard they've worked, but today the result makes that easier. “You can see yourself.” O’Neil’s attention has already turned to next weekend, with reigning Premier League champions Manchester City in town. “Big game next week,” he restarted. “Let's get ourselves dusted down. “Make sure the boys that had to come off today, or Jeff (Lerma), that was ill, make sure we get them ready to go again because we have another big game.”
Nathan Jones
Posted in2022-2023-Season Daily News

#PLStories- Southampton manager Nathan Jones admits ‘compromising’ methods due to players capabilities #SAINTSFC

February 5, 2023
A REFLECTIVE Nathan Jones revealed he believes he has “compromised in certain principles” during his tenure at Saints, following a 3-0 defeat to Brentford. The manager has overseen six defeats in seven Premier League matches since his appointment with his side rooted to the bottom of the table. Jones was subjected to chants of ‘you don’t know what you’re doing,’ and ‘get out of our club,’ from the visiting supporters at Brentford Community Stadium. The Welshman came out firing and named supporters, players and the height of the Premier League as potential reasons why he has deviated from what he knows. “I’ve compromised in certain principles because of personnel and the way people want to play and so on, and I’ve compromised because of fans and so on – it’s a few little things,” he said. “But no more, I’ve been very successful playing a really fluent style and tried to implement that at Stoke but couldn’t because of certain things. I came back to Luton and was successful playing an aggressive, front-footed side. "Statistically, there weren’t many better in Europe in terms of clean sheets, defending your box, balls in the box, XG and all those things. Pound for pound we were the best because we were spending next to nothing and getting results,” Jones added. “I’ve gone away from that, maybe because it’s the Premier League, maybe because of certain players and internationals, I’ve had to compromise on certain things but no more.” Asked if he has listened to outside noise, Jones responded: “No, not at all. We’ve thought what have we got, because at the end of the day there are certain players in the building we have to work with. “Now we’ve got a little bit more aggression and firepower and so on. We will be able to step that up. There are a few little things but I haven’t listened to outside noise, now I will live and die by my own philosophy. “I was recruited to transfer certain things into this football club and I haven’t at the minute, but I will.” Asked by the Daily Echo what he meant when listing supporters as a reason for compromising, Jones answered: “Not just because of fans, I’ve compromised because of certain things. The chants have come after my decisions so it’s nothing to do with fans. “Certain things like fans and outside noise have come in afterwards. I’ve gone away from what brought me to this football club and that’s the disappointing thing. “One reason has been players and secondly it has probably been you’re in the Premier League and you want to be fluent. “You want to make sure that players are in a system which suits them to get the best out of them, now we have a little bit more of what we need to do to be us.” Don't miss a moment with our Saints morning briefing email. A message from the Editor Thank you for reading this article on the Daily Echo. Your support means we can bring you the latest breaking news, exclusive Saints features and coverage - and much more. Digital subscribers get unrestricted access to all of our stories, our dedicated app including e-version of the newspaper, and an advertising-light website. If you want all the latest articles delivered straight to your inbox you can join the thousands of subscribers who are signed up to our newsletters. They include our popular daily morning news briefing, breaking news, crime and court, and Southampton FC bulletins - plus business, heritage and our what's on newsletters.