| Saints At Crystal Palace The Verdict | An early goal by Steven Davis won the game for a Saints side who are starting to find their shape and confidence. 17-09-2017 |
Both turned in eye-catching displays in Saints’ 1-0 victory at Selhurst Park, with Lemina imperious in midfield and Hoedt impressively assured at the back.
“When you bring players into the side you hope all the best for them,” said Pellegrino after the game.
“If they are well the team will be well, and Mario, Wesley, the new players who came this summer, all of them will help us to be stronger as a team and today was a good performance from everybody.”
Indeed, it was an ideal response for Pellegrino after the disappointment of last weekend’s 2-0 home defeat against Watford.
“Every single game is an opportunity to grow and to learn from the last game,” he said. “Also, we are knowing how my players can respond to different situations, because every single team has got different qualities and to be in front of them we have to adapt on every single situation.”
| Van Dijk Reception Was Counter Productive | Whilst i don’t think there was a Saints fan at Selhurst Park who would have warmly applauded Virgil Van Dijk on his … 17-09-2017 |
The Saints youngsters were beaten 4-0 by their Villa counterparts last week, and Jaïdi views this evening’s clash with Stoke City as an ideal opportunity for them to bounce back.
“I want to see a reaction,” he started.
“I want to see a positive reaction from our boys. We are a bit disappointed with the goals we conceded in the last game and we will be working on that over the next few days.
"So I am expecting to see an improvement and for the players to bounce back and show resilience to get a good performance and a good result.”
Stoke are currently three points and five places above Saints in the Premier League 2 table.
And Jaïdi knows they will arrive at Staplewood in a confident mood, having defeated Wolves in their previous league match.
“I have seen a couple of points from watching Stoke,” he continued.
“Obviously we have watched them and they are direct and physical - they will be motivated to come here play against us.
“They will try to dig in and get the points, which is natural. So, as I said, we are looking for a positive reaction from our boys to get back to a winning level.”
The midfielder is back home in Denmark and will be given this weekend off, ahead of a return to Staplewood Campus next week.
“The only thing that I would like to say is to congratulate Pierre Højbjerg on the birth of his daughter,” said Pellegrino when asked about team news ahead of Saturday’s game at Selhurst Park.
“He is the only player who is away, in his country, but the rest of the team is ok.”
The Saints boss also explained that a decision will be made on Virgil van Dijk tomorrow, after he made a return to action in Monday’s Under-23 game away to Aston Villa.
“Virgil was training well,” said Pellegrino. "He played 90 minutes the other day in a game, but tomorrow we will decide.
“Hopefully he will be getting better every single week, but I am happy with that, because it’s not about just Virgil. Everybody I think right now is ready to be part of the team.”
Mauricio Pellegrino insists Southampton defender Virgil van Dijk is “one of the best players in the Premier League” but admits he does not know what will happen in January.
The Dutchman made his first senior appearance since January on Saturday, coming on as an 87th-minute substitute as Southampton got back to winning ways with a 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.
Van Dijk was the subject of summer transfer speculation and had been training on his own after handing in a transfer request before his return to the squad, and Pellegrino accepts there will be interest in the centre-back because he believes he is one of the best players in the league.
“Around the player there is a lot of interest. You know how football is, it’s a big business. We have to accept that. Around him it is the same situation. Now we have to leave aside this situation. Now everything is normal,” Pellegrino said.
"Now, for me I’ve got this group of players and I will try to push them, to work with them, to help them, to improve every single day.
"We never know how the market will be in January. We can bring in some players, every single squad can improve. We have got people who are working to improve our squad all the time.
"And for the other teams it’s the same. They will push to bring the best players and Virgil is one case. He’s one of the best players in the Premier League.
“It’s normal that the biggest teams in the Premier League want to buy him.”