Sourced from Sky Sports article
Southampton’s lack of focus resulted in ‘awful day’, says Mauricio Pellegrino
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Mauricio Pellegrino says Southampton were masters of their own downfall in their 4-1 defeat to Leicester due to poor concentration.
After Riyad Mahrez’s 11th-minute opener in Wednesday night’s Premier League clash at St Mary’s, Saints were never in the game, much to Pellegrino’s frustration as his side capitulated to two Shinji Okazaki goals and an Andy King tap-in.
“It was a really bad game, from the beginning to the end,” said Pellegrino.
"We started the first 10 minutes well, but after the goal they were getting better and little by little, our confidence was down and we gave the ball away all the time.
“For me, it’s a little bit concentration, a little bit [not being] 100 per cent focused and at this level, you cannot be on the pitch giving this advantage… sometimes you get an awful day like today, and this is the reality.”
Southampton were three goals down at the break, which saw Pellegrino forced to bring on Manolo Gabbiadini to try and turn the tide.
Asked what he told his players at the break, Pellegrino said: “We need to react. We have to score one goal and at least be in the game. We scored one and we were really close to the second one.”
Saints pulled a goal back through Maya Yoshida just after the hour mark but King soon restored the visitors’ three-goal advantage.
Pellegrino says he is not fearful of a relegation battle, despite being just four points above the drop.
“In the Premier League, there are a group of teams that the difference between the bottom and the middle is three, four, five, six points,” he added. "Like at the end of last season, it’s more or less the same.
“It’s really tight. We need to fight for every point.”
Many Saints fans left the ground early having seen their team fail to impress, and several of those who stayed until the end booed the team off, something Pellegrino can sympathise with.
“Obviously we got the same feeling as the supporters, because when we play like this, we are a little bit surprised,” he said. “Three days before we played a really good game. But in football, in three days, everything changed.”
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