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Sourced from Daily Echo article

Stoke boss Paul Lambert: Mark Hughes did a great job before me

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STOKE boss Paul Lambert does not believe the appointment of his predecessor Mark Hughes as Saints manager will add extra spice to the relegation battle.

Hughes was sacked by the Potters in January and Lambert was subsequently handed the responsibility of pulling the club away from danger at the bottom end of the Premier League.

Fellow strugglers Saints have now turned to Hughes after parting company with Mauricio Pellegrino earlier this week.

Saints are 17th in the table, just a point ahead of 19th-placed Stoke in a tight battle, but Lambert does not think Hughes will try to make a point to his old club.

Lambert said: “If you look at things like that it’s probably wrong. I think he will concentrate on his own fixtures. Southampton have got hard fixtures like everyone else.

“I am sure he will concentrate on Southampton’s form. I will do the same here, concentrate on our games, and hopefully we can start to win.”

Hughes led Stoke to three successive ninth-placed finishes from 2014-16 - their highest placings since 1975 - but he paid a price for a poor first half to the current season.

Lambert acknowledges that, but insists there is no personal rivalry as the pair will focus on their respective tasks.

“I know Mark,” Lambert said. “He did a fabulous job here before me. He was here nearly five years and did a great job.

“I know the problems Southampton are in, but it is never easy to see another manager lose his job.

“But I have got my own work cut out and he will have his own at Southampton. Yes, it is a big job he’s got.”

Pellegrino lost his job after a run of just one win in 17 league games.

Lambert said: “I don’t know behind the scenes what happened there, but you can’t blame a manager every time.

“You can’t blame the manager every time for things going wrong. Southampton players will be asking what went wrong this season.”

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Sourced from Southampton FC - Official Site article

U23 Report: Saints 0-4 Leicester

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The young Saints did cause problems for the visitors, particularly in the first period, but were beaten by a well-drilled visiting team who were physically strong and clinical in front of goal.

Striker Josh Gordon broke the deadlock after 11 minutes, while another header, from big defender Sam Hughes, proved a major setback right on the stroke of half time.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall added the Foxes’ third with an accurate low shot just shy of the hour mark, before George Thomas tapped in from close range to complete the scoring.

Saints knew the size of the task in front of them, with Leicester sitting pretty at the top of Premier League 2 Division One, a full 18 places above their hosts on the Under-23 pyramid.

Radhi Jaïdi’s side did show some early promise, threatening with a pacey front three of Nathan Tella, Michael Obafemi and Tyreke Johnson.

But it was Leicester who took an early lead when Connor Wood crossed from the left and Gordon rose at the far post to power a downward header back across Kingsley Latham, finding the net via the unfortunate Alfie Jones on the goal line.

Saints responded when Tella tore down the right and fed a pass inside to Obafemi, who rather miss-hit his shot, which looped into the air and forced an acrobatic save from Max Bramley, who wasn’t to know the offside flag had already intervened.

Then Bramley tipped over an awkward header from Aaron O’Driscoll that was dropping in, before another burst from Tella. This time the winger drilled in a low cross that broke for Callum Slattery, whose shot was crucially blocked.

Saints were playing well. Slattery slipped a clever pass inside the right-back for Jake Vokins, who surged into the box only to be denied by the legs of Bramley.

Jaïdi’s young charges had enjoyed the majority of the chances, but that counted for little when Hughes showcased his aerial prowess to haed home a corner in the final minute of the first half.

The Saints boss responded with a half-time double change, introducing Will Smallbone and Olufela Olomola for Tom O’Connor and Tella.

Both replacements were involved within ten minutes of the restart, as Obafemi fed Smallbone to his left thanks to a run from Olomola that opened up the space, inviting his fellow substitute to crack a 20-yard shot that had to be pushed aside by Bramley.

But Leicester had already proved they did not need to dominate the play to score goals, and Harvey Barnes served a timely reminder with a curling effort from nothing that nearly crept inside the far post.

Latham was beaten for a third time from the next attack. Captain Hamza Choudhury galloped down the right and produced a low cross to pick out Dewsbury-Hall, whose smart shot on the turn nestled into the bottom corner to effectively kill the tie.

Leicester knew their passage to the quarter-finals was assured. Still they pushed for more, causing havoc from set-pieces with an obvious physical advantage in the air, while Vokins rattled the crossbar from his own dead ball – an inswinging free kick from the right that Bramley could only stand and watch.

It was as close as Saints came to mounting an unlikely comeback, as Thomas rounded off a slick team move in stoppage time to bring an abrupt end to the hosts’ five-match unbeaten run.

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Summary of non-mainstream articles: 17/03/2018 00:47:42

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Blogs – Fresh Saints

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Summary of non-mainstream articles: 17/03/2018 01:47:55

| | Hughes “won’t demean” the FA CupEIRSPORT |

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@SouthamptonFC - Southampton FC

MH: “There’s a real energy to the club, which I like. We’re all pushing in the right direction and we need to confi… https://twitter.com/i/web/status/974651551338901504

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We’re wishing a happy #StPatricksDay to all the #SaintsFC fans celebrating!

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Will Grigg opens up on that goal, that song, trying to get Aguero’s shirt, how rugby helped him evade tackles, clim… https://twitter.com/i/web/status/974893030984601600

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Happy Birthday to #SaintsFC keeper Fraser Forster, who turns today!

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Sourced from Optimus trousers summary article summary

Summary of non-mainstream articles: 17/03/2018 09:21:05

| | Mark Hughes: the facts and stats of his managerial career so farFRESHSAINTS |

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Sourced from Southampton FC - Official Site article

Video: Jaïdi reflects on cup exit

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Watch our post-match interview with Radhi Jaïdi, as the Southampton Under-23 coach gives his reaction to a tough night for his players against Leicester in the Premier League Cup.

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U23 Gallery: Saints 0-4 Leicester

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Jaïdi: We paid for our mistakes

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The boss admitted his side were below par against a Leicester team who scored twice in each half to run out 4-0 winners at Staplewood.

The young Saints now have a quick turnaround as they return to league action with a trip to Blackburn on Monday – something Jaïdi believes could be a blessing.

“It’s a disappointing result,” he said. “We didn’t play the way we usually play; we didn’t control the game.

“We played against physically better players, and more experienced players. It’s something that our younger boys can hopefully learn from.

“At this level, you need to understand that when you make a mistake, you pay.

“Probably the best thing for us is that we can prepare for Monday’s game, with only two days to get ready and bounce back.

“We had a good reflection in the changing room and the boys understand the requirement now to step up again and hopefully go with a better mindset to react at Blackburn.”

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Sourced from Southampton FC - Official Site article

U23 Highlights: Saints 0-4 Leicester

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View the best of the action from Staplewood Campus, where Southampton Under-23s were knocked out of the Premier League Cup at the last 16 stage by their Leicester counterparts.

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Sourced from The Telegraph article

Mark Hughes: I will step on people’s toes to keep Southampton in the Premier League

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On day two for Mark Hughes as Southampton manager, it did not take much reading between the lines to sense that he had been asked to deliver a metaphorical kick up the backside after the calm style of Mauricio Pellegrino.

“I work in a certain way and with certain levels of training intensity,” explained Hughes. “It’s fair to say the feedback from people in and around the club is that maybe that intensity hasn’t been there. We haven’t got the time to go around the edges and pussyfoot around.

“We had a meeting as an introduction to give them an insight of what I expected. Sometimes you have to step on people’s toes and we are probably in that situation. We have eight weeks. If we upset people along the way they will have to accept it. It’s about the end game and there’s been a willingness in the two days we have been here.”

Hughes has never been relegated during stints across five clubs and 14 years of almost continuous Premier League management and, attributing Southampton’s slump to underperformance rather than any lack of quality, he does not expect to start now.

“I’ve always admired Southampton teams from afar – that’s why this season is a bit of a mystery to me,” he said. Indeed, Hughes was such a fan of certain Southampton players, notably Shane Long, Cedric Soares and Mario Lemina, that he tried to sign them.

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Sourced from A tweet by SouthamptonFC tweet

@SouthamptonFC - Southampton FC

Here’s how #SaintsFCU18s line-up to take on their #ReadingFC counterparts in the #U18PL this morning:

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Summary of non-mainstream articles: 17/03/2018 11:21:24

| | These 2 Southampton players need to take a look at themselves over the international break | | Where football …THETRANSFERTAVERN |
| | Stoke fans run rule over selection, Everton - and re-emergence of Mark HughesSTOKESENTINEL |
| | I’ve got nothing to prove to Stoke City says Southampton boss Mark HughesSTOKESENTINEL |
| | Injured Southampton star set to return against West HamFOOTBALLLONDON |

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