JOE Aribo addressed rumours of dissent towards manager Ralph Hasenhuttl from the Saints dressing room, saying: “I’ve not heard anything from the boys, you see we’re working together as a team.” Earlier that week, reports emerged elsewhere of dissent and distrust from some of Hasenhuttl’s players – who, after a poor run of form last season, are said to be dissatisfied with his management. Hasenhuttl came out firing in his post-match press conference,
Ralph Hasenhuttl said: “When you know your team and the amount they’re investing every day to be competitive, then you know this is sh*t.”
Aribo, speaking at full-time after the draw, was asked for his verdict – from inside the Saints dressing room – on the claims.
Joe Aribo added: “You see the boys fighting, you see they’re working together as a team and it all starts on the pitch. That’s what we’re going to do, we’re going to fight, keep pushing and we’ll see what we do. To be fair, I have not heard anything about it. I’ve just been focussed, obviously I’ve just come in and I’ve not heard anything from the boys. Like I said, I’ve not seen it, not heard anything. I have just come in, the boys have welcomed me and we’ve been working hard on the training field together. Everyone is ready to go, ready to fight, you saw it in the second-half. Everyone is ready to work together and do our best for the team.”
St Mary’s risked becoming a toxic place, going two goals down to Leeds in the second match of the Premier League season – following a heavy defeat in the opener. However, aside from isolated pockets of home support and jeers from the away contingency, the stadium got behind their team to see them out of a losing position.
Joe Aribo said: “The fans helped us so much, they were amazing and kept going even when we were 2-0 down. Then, we saw the fight from the boys, the spirit in the team to come back and get a result.”
IT IS easy to look at the impact of a substitute and immediately think, ‘well, why on Earth were they sat on the bench anyway?’ You do not have to be a starter in the Austrian’s side for him to consider you an integral part of his plan. If not for two moments of defensive madness after the break, Saints would have had a platform to win the game with positive changes.
Joe Aribo said: “I spoke to the manager the day before the match and he just said ‘be ready for me’ for when I need to come on and impact the game.”
He did exactly that. Aribo arrived onto a ball from fellow substitute, Adam Armstrong, inside the area to halve the deficit with under 20 minutes to play.
Joe Aribo added: “Things like that happen. That’s what I do, every time I play I want to leave my impact on the pitch and luckily I was able to do that. The manager said he was going to take me out and give me some time. I’m here to do the job so no matter if I’m starting on the bench or starting in the team I’m ready to make my impact on the team.”
The conditions on a baking hot summer’s day inside St Mary’s further lent to the possibility of a decisive impact from Hasenhuttl’s changes.
Joe Aribo added: “I was sitting on the bench with a towel over my head because it was so hot. It looked carnage for the boys. It looked so hard to run and that’s what they did so well, they wore down the opposition and when the subs came on we were able to come fresh and make our impact on the game. That’s why the manager brings players on, to see a change in the game, to bring a spark. It’s so important to have a good squad and to have those options.”
Aribo’s first Premier League goal comes two weeks after he had announced himself to the crowd in SO, with a 70-yard solo run and finish versus Villarreal in the final pre-season friendly. Signed from Scottish giants Rangers for a modest fee of £6million this summer, Aribo – who can drift in and out of games – has already spoken about his task being to provide ‘moments’.
Joe Aribo said: “It’s an amazing feeling, I don’t really have words but I’m really buzzing today and happy to help the team. I literally said to Arma I could have scored a hat-trick, the header I felt like I should have chested and volleyed and the second one I thought I could do better too. But fortunately I have managed to score.”
Aribo’s strike was added to by Kyle Walker-Peters, provided by an excellent assist from Premier League debutant Sekou Mara, with less than 10 minutes until the referee’s final whistle. Only once did Saints come from two goals down to avoid defeat in the Premier League last campaign, during April’s 2-2 draw with south coast rivals Brighton & Hove Albion.
Joe Aribo added: “It’s really important to have that, you need fight when you’re down 2-0, it’s never easy to get back into the game. The boys are fighting and pushing together and you can see how important that is to get back into the game. We need to get points on the board. After the first result, we needed a turnaround and a bounceback. We got that today but it’s about pushing on. We’re biding our time and getting used to things but you need results to feed into things so it’s a massive point. We saw together the fight and the spirit. That is what we will need. We’re going to play Leicester and we’re going to fight together – we need three points.”
