#RelegationBattle

With the international break providing the first natural pause since Selles took over from Nathan Jones in mid-February, the Spaniard sat down with the Saints media team to discuss his journey and the earliest days of his tenure. Initially joining Saints in the summer as part of Ralph Hasenhuttl’s staff, Selles’s path to the South Coast took him all across Europe in various coaching roles before eventually making the leap to British soil. READ MORE: Will Saints survive? How things stand in the relegation battle with ten games to go And when the Jones era disintegrated in just eight league games, it was the experienced coach - and first time manager - Selles, who was chosen as his replacement, initially on an interim basis before getting the job until the end of the season. “I don’t know what a comfort zone is, to be honest with you. I’ve been living out of that comfort zone for 15 years,” he says. “I think it says about me that I can do almost everything that I want to do, I am ready to invest what I think is the proper thing to invest. Sometimes we need to be separated for a long time with the family, but as a family we decide to do it. “I think it just put me in a position where I can understand almost every single point of view, but it is also making my life easier – I have 17 nationalities in the dressing room with different backgrounds, different religions, but because of my past I have touched almost everything in one country or another country, so I know exactly how they feel and exactly what they need. I think it is a big advantage." Ruben Selles pictured with his Saints players ahead of their League Cup clash with Sheffield Wednesday earlier this season. (Image: PA) As well as taking him to a wide range of locations, Selles's football life has seen him adopt numerous roles across the fitness side, analysis departments, coaching and management. “I think it just says that I was a person that didn’t wait for the opportunity – just go and try to get it, and try to be as honest and direct as possible, and adapt himself to a different scenario, which I think is a very, very important quality in life," Selles added. “Now when we are here talking, when I have a fantastic technical staff in Southampton, I know what is required to make every single activity they make, so I can demand exactly what I can demand from them, and I know how to not overload them. That is a big advantage for me. “I know how much it takes you to analyse a football match and it is not something you can make from one hour to the other. I know how much it takes for you to prepare a training session, or a video session, or to analyse the game from a statistical point of view – I did almost every single job in football, so I understand and I can demand.”

Since taking charge following the sacking of Nathan Jones, Selles has worked to improve Saints’ defensive outlook and it’s led to three clean sheets in five games, including such successes at both Stamford Bridge and Old Trafford. Those clean sheets have led to seven crucial points but the lack of goals was brought to the forefront once again on Wednesday night as Selles’s side toiled to create anything of note despite keeping the majority of the ball. READ MORE: Selles predicts survival margin will be one point amid aim to 'reduce outside noise' Saints have now scored just twice in the five Premier League games under the Spaniard’s guidance. But asked by the Daily Echo whether he has prioritised a defensive approach and a lack of attacking bravery, Selles insisted that was not the issue. “If they (fans) feel there is a lack of bravery they can see the build-up with Gavin (Bazunu), Armel (Bella Kotchap), and Jan (Bednarek) in the last game, how we are trying to build from the back.  “I don’t think it’s lack of bravery, I’d take that of the equation. I think sometimes it takes time to build something, I think because we’ve changed a lot in the last year it’s not easy to find the connections, and then once you find the connections and find the principles, it’s just about finding the flow and the players to do it.  “I know people are worried about that (the lack of goals) but I don’t think our approach is a defensive approach at all. I think what we are doing is trying to defend high, trying to apply pressure, trying to win the ball high, and when we have the ball we are not a team who is kicking the ball long and guessing for something.  “We are a team that is trying to build up, you can see the patterns, you can see the adjustment from game to game - sometimes it works, sometimes a little bit less. So I would say for us, for me, for this period, it’s a process. "I will not evaluate before because it’s not the right thing to do and I hope and think that after the work we put in we will become better soon. But I understand the concern because it’s facts.” An element of the concerns raised by supporters has been to do with the personnel chosen by Selles. While record-signing Kamaldeen Sulemana has established himself as a regular, fellow January addition Paul Onuachu has taken a back-seat to Che Adams while Samuel Edozie and Joe Aribo have struggled to even make the squad. Saints striker Che Adams in action against Manchester United. (Image: PA) The attacking trio that started against Brentford has combined for four league goals this sason - all scored by Adams - and no Saints forward has found the net since the World Cup break.  But Selles rejected the idea that those players picked have been the reason for the team’s lack of potency. “It’s interesting because I didn’t have that perception,” he responded. “So if you have that perception maybe I should communicate in a better way.  “I just think that I can live with my strikers not scoring a goal in the whole season but doing everything properly. As you see with Che Adams, we are using him in the link-up play many times, freeing the space for others.  “Right now we’re in a situation where it’s not about who scores the goals, it’s about actually scoring the goals. If we sound like we have a defensive approach then maybe I made a mistake trying to send that message because it’s not like that.  “And I think we show it. We show our patterns of play, we show dominance for some periods also, the Manchester United game we had situations in the box and it wasn’t because we weren’t brave or because we didn’t have the quality or because of one name or another.  “It was the team, 11 vs 11 or 10 vs 11. So I don’t see a problem there, we are working and we are improving and like many areas.”

The St Mary’s outfit have a final game before the March international break on Saturday – when they will host Tottenham Hotspur – and that will take us into the last 10. Saints will next play in two weeks’ time, with a visit to West Ham United. David Moyes’s side are also fighting a relegation battle despite still competing in the Europa Conference League knockouts. Reaching the magic 40-point mark seems unlikely for bottom-place Saints, who would need 18 points from their remaining games. However, Selles will want to total as many as possible. “I don’t want to sit on defeat for one hour, that is what I can tell you. So imagine for two weeks,” he said. “I will prepare every game to win the game, to do the best performance we can and to get the best results.” The Spaniard added: “That’s what I want for tomorrow, I don’t think about what will happen if we have to sit on a defeat for two weeks though. It’s all about what we can do today. “Then it’s what can we do tomorrow, how can we support the boys during the game and do the very best performance. Whatever will come will come.” Selles still has the difficult task of leaving half a dozen or more fit seniors out of his 20-man matchday squads every week, due to the number of players he has. The likes of January signing Mislav Orsic are among those not playing regular minutes, while Samuel Edozie has also fallen down the order under Selles. The boss was asked if a defeat like Wednesday’s – losing 2-0 at home to Brentford – gives him the opportunity to consider players as of yet not making an impact. "We didn’t get all the principles we want against Brentford. We analysed what happened in the game and how we can attack (against Tottenham),” he said. "Tomorrow is a different challenge and we may use a different player, but we’ll learn from the key moments of the defeat on Wednesday night. “I think every player should have the hope to get into the team if they work hard and we are happy with what they are doing. “They can control their performances and what they do and then it is up to me to pick the team. I can understand that from the outside, it seems players are disappointed. “Sometimes people are disappointed, all of us in any given job think we can do it and in football with other people making the decisions it is difficult.”

The Southampton manager is encouraging his more experienced professionals to step up to help and advise youngsters in the squad as the team battle to beat the drop.  Selles told the Daily Echo: "Everybody wants to give a solution. If it’s not Theo Walcott, it’s Stuart Armstrong, Willy Caballero or Ward-Prowse. And of course they need to give advice, of course they see things that sometimes you don’t see. You need to hear them because if you hear them, you are closer to seeing the solutions. "The dressing room needs to be alive, so it’s not only Theo but it’s all of them - they have all stepped up and they all want to move things forward. In the leadership that I practise, everybody has a space and in the good moments, we are together." Saints manager Ruben Selles (Image: Stuart Martin) He added: "It is teamwork. I don’t see this as a special thing. Giving people the freedom to step in and know what we’re doing is good because sometimes they know the solution, I don’t even need to say the solution and they already know. "Sometimes it is much better to talk player-to-player than to talk coach-to-player because they can be more direct to each other and they can understand each other." Keep up to date with Saints news by signing up to our daily newsletter. Selles saved special praise for former Saints Academy scholar Theo Walcott, who has featured more under the new manager. James Ward-Prowse, Kyle Walker-Peters and Stuart Armstrong are among more experienced members of the squad (Image: Stuart Martin) His return to the starting line-up coincided with a return to winning ways for Saints on Saturday, but youngsters are also benefitting from his experience with Arsenal and England. Selles added: "Theo Walcott is the best example, and I think we are getting more and more benefit from his knowledge for what the young lads need to do, and what they need to avoid. "Theo has been in football for almost half of his life, from when smartphones were not there and when you had the paparazzi, and he was the youngest player for England in the World Cup. To the moment now when his life is more calm and he’s an experienced player in the Premier League. "The young lads need to listen to what he has to say and pay attention because it’ll be a big advantage for them."