Southampton

Alex Fletcher
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

With just four games to go in the Premier League this season relegation has been decided.

For the second season in a row, all three promoted clubs have been sent straight back down, and 14 points separates those in the relegation zone and 17th placed West Ham.

Southampton, Leicester City and Ipswich Town have just 10 wins between them this season, and there is still a chance that the Saints finish the campaign as the t-worst Premier League team of all time.

But where did it all go wrong?

A struggle to survive

According to Opta, this is the worst combined points total of any group of promoted sides at this stage of the season in Premier League history

The three teams have only managed to get 50 points between them - after just 34 games - and are 14 points behind the previous record which was set last year by Sheffield United, Burnley and Luton Town.

While Leicester and Southampton have seen changes in the dugout this season, Ipswich have stuck with Kieran McKenna, but this has not changed their fortunes.

Between them, they have picked up just 21 points at home, with Southampton and Ipswich winning just once in-front of their own fans.

Promoted sides face 'more of a challenge'

And things look set to get even more difficult for those coming up from the Championship.

According to Opta, five of the lowest eight Premier League points totals for promoted sides after 34 games have come in the last eight years. Southampton are currently on the t-lowest points total ever at this stage of the season, alongside Derby County.

Speaking before his sides relegation, Ipswich boss McKenna said the gap between the Premier League and the Championship "is getting bigger" and that "it's been getting more of a challenge for clubs to be able to bridge that".

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Southampton have faced more shots (605), more shots on target (234) and have a higher xG against tally (78.8) than any other side in the Premier League this season.

On the other hand, Leicester have had fewer shots (299), fewer shots on target (98) and a lower xG tally (29.2) than any other side in the Premier League this season.

Guess the current Southampton player from these three clues:

• I was part of the Saints team that won promotion from the Championship last season.

• I scored my first Premier League goal against Bournemouth.

• I made my international debut earlier this season.

Come back to this page at 17:00 BST for the answer

Sean Byrne
BBC Sport journalist

Simon Rusk has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game at Leicester City (kick-off 15:00).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• On his squad's fitness: "Paul Onuachu has been training the last few days so he's back in the mix. We have a pretty clean bill of health at the moment."

• On their most recent game against Fulham: "Lots of really good things to build on. The first half we did really well to get ourselves ahead. It ended up a difficult one to take. But as I've spoken about, it's about making sure we find the balance of looking like a hard team to beat and having a footprint in the game. It was really nice to get a set-piece goal as well."

• On Ross Stewart, who made his first Southampton start in 203 days against Fulham: "I thought he did great. For how long he's been out, starting the game, and it was an intense game too. For him to get through it and be training again this week to try get in the starting team again on Saturday, what a great thing for him and a real positive from the day."

• On opponents Leicester: "They're a team that have some versatility to the way they play. Just like us, they will be drumming home that there's pride at stake. There's no easy Premier League games and although they may have had some difficult home form, they've picked up some decent results away from home. For us, it's about going in on the front foot and making sure we're in the best nick to beat our opponent."

• On if they would play a more attacking style against relegated opposition: "We have to be realistic about the situation I inherited. We've had some difficult results, we are bottom of the league, and we were never going to become solid and be dominant in the game. If we did that when I came in with seven games to go, I'd probably be able to bring world peace as well. I've had to pick a way for this team to play based on the evidence of the season."

• On Adam Lallana's future: "In of a playing decision, that's solely with him at the minute. Building up to this game he's on the coaching staff and that'll be a similar format this weekend as well."

Follow all of Thursday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

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Southampton defender Ryan Manning, speaking to BBC Radio Solent about not giving up on the club and planning for a better season: "We have to finish this season in a way that we can put it behind us.

"We are going to plan for next season and show the fans that we're going to fight, and we're going to show up and give them a season to be proud of.

"This is a massive football club and everyone in the changing room is committed to it. The opportunity to come here and play is something I never take for granted.

"Everyone is going to show up next season with the goal of getting the club back to where we want to be. It's not fair on the fans to just give up."

Listen to the full clip on BBC Sounds

Ray Hunt
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

After saving a point at West Ham to equal Derby's worst Premier League points tally record, could we build on that positive and overtake that mark of 11?

For the most part, yes. We saw huge improvement in performance and for large portions of the match, we looked capable of competing with Premier League outfits. Even European-chasing ones. The vibes are as good as they have been all season. Simon Rusk has them playing with more desire, and personally, I am enjoying watching them more since he took temporary charge. We have yet to concede in the first half under his tutelage.

After ceding possession to Fulham, we struck inside 15 minutes with virtually our first attack and kept them without a ed shot on target in the first half.

Inevitably though, Fulham got what they needed - like so many before them. An injury-time dagger from Ryan Sessegnon condemned us to another defeat. The 27th of the campaign and 14th at home. Another goal in stoppage time to see the point(s) snatched away.

That is now 28 points dropped from winning positions and an all-too-familiar pattern from a season where we have conceded 11 goals after 90 minutes. That is almost one every three games and highlights our bench is not capable of saving games for us.

Contrast that with the past two home games against Aston Villa and Fulham where they have had four goals and an assist coming off their benches to make all the difference.

There is no 'Plan B'. When fatigue strikes, who can save points off the bench? If we sort this out, then things will improve. All we ask is to stay in games and be competitive. We will go in to Leicester with a slight wind in our sails and with something still to play for.

Find more from Ray Hunt at the In that Number podcast, external

Fulham are interested in g full-back Kyle Walker-Peters on a free transfer when his Southampton contract expires this summer. (Sky Sports), external

Want more transfer news? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

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We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Southampton and Fulham at St Mary's.

Here are some of your replies:

Southampton fans

Chris: Utter dross. These are supposedly 'professional' footballers - I think they need to take a long hard look at themselves in the mirror. I've seen more skill and ion from non-league sides.

Oliver: A game of two halves - the nostalgic Southampton of then and the daunting Southampton of now. Simon Rusk has elevated us from 'that bad' to 'not that bad', and we looked like dominant for the first 45 minutes. Unfortunately, the second half underscored our disappointing season and the sad reality that lesser sides like Fulham, among others, have overtaken us. It left me with doubt that we could ever return to our glory days.

Bill: I'm not sure how many time Jan Bednarek has cost us points this season. I realise that at times he has saved us, but sadly neither he nor Jack Stephens are Premier League standard and they never have been. Our defence was tired and disorganised but I wasn't aware of any forwards having a pop at goal. If you don't shoot you won't score! I'm not sure why folk thought Ross Stewart was the prodigal son returning. I've not seen anything to persuade me of his value to the club. Sell him!

Marc: Stephens was a gladiator - he gave it his all. It's a shame the rest of his team couldn't be bothered. Super Jack Stephens.

Fulham fans

Matthew: A pretty poor performance, particularly in the first half. Many individual errors throughout the whole game and we were very lucky that Southampton had no threat. Credit where it's due for Southampton's gameplan, but also the Fulham substitutes were impactful. I also felt Southampton's substitute of Stewart for Cameron Archer really helped Fulham. A win is a win!

Richard: Three points, but what a struggle to get there. They are not likely to make Europe - they are just too inconsistent and conceding late goals has been their undoing.

Will: We never make it easy for ourselves. We need Crystal Palace to lose the FA Cup final for eighth place to be good enough. We need to do all that we can to keep our position.

Michael: I really can't understand why Marco Silva keeps playing Andreas Pereira because he makes very little contribution to the overall game. Time and time again he fails to make a decent cross from a corner and worse still his free kicks are consistently poor. His unnecessary tackle in the 17th minute gifted Southampton their first attempt. Time to go, I think.

Laura Kenyon
Final Score reporter

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As if Southampton did not already know just how brutal Premier League football can be, Ryan Sessegnon's late winner was a painful reminder.

As the clock ticked down, reporters watching on were primed to praise another point gained under interim boss, Simon Rusk.

A team, already relegated, but seemingly transformed – or at least much improved – under Rusk's leadership. Put the Fulham result aside, one cannot help but think Rusk is doing enough to at least be considered for the permanent role with Adam Lallana in tow.

Articulate press conferences, noticeable improvements on the pitch and the fans seeming to warm to him. In a season of negatives for Southampton, the emergence of Rusk into the limelight should be seen as a positive - even if he returns to his under-21s role.

Mark Chapman presents highlights and analysis from Saturday's five Premier League fixtures, which saw Ipswich Town's relegation from the top-flight confirmed.

If you missed Match of the Day, you can catch up now on BBC iPlayer.

Listen back to full match commentary from Newcastle United 3-0 Ipswich Town on BBC Sounds.

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Southampton striker Ross Stewart has been speaking to BBC Radio Solent after earning his first home start of the season: "On a personal note, I'm very pleased. It's been a long time since I last started a game. I've had really bad luck with injuries over the past couple of years and it's been really tough on me.

"I've found it tough but I know how hard I've worked to get back to this stage. I completed 65 minutes and felt good during it so I think that's a positive personally.

"I think the difficulty has just been the constant setbacks. It's never easy being injured and the last two years have been the first time in my career where I've had to deal with this sort of thing. Every time you build yourself up to a place and you get a knockback, it's probably tougher.

"There have been a lot of dark days and a lot of solo days where you are having to work behind the scenes. You just want to play football.

"I would have liked to have done it during a win but we just got so unlucky at the end. We dug in so well and on another day, we would probably get something from that game.

"I really enjoyed just playing football today - result aside. So it's a positive to be back out there and hopefully I can continue to be a part of this team for the rest of this season."

On Fulham's defensive line: "Both of their centre-backs are big boys and quality players as well. It was a tough afternoon but I thought we did well for the first 60 minutes. We were well in the game and then we probably found ourselves defending more than we would have liked.

"We invited the pressure and in the end, when you're up against a quality team with quality players, like Fulham, they can always find the goals. Conceding late goals sucks, there is no other way around it.

"So it's disappointing, but the fight was definitely there. We aren't going to let this season die because there are still games to play and points to be earned."

Listen to the full interview here

Adwaidh Rajan
BBC Sport journalist

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With only four minutes of added time remaining, it looked like relegated Southampton were about to secure a vital point against Fulham at St Mary's Stadium on Saturday.

The result would have been the first time the Saints avoided defeat in back-to-back league games this season.

And more importantly, it would have helped the bottom side move to 12 points and avoid the ignominy of sharing the record for the fewest points in a Premier League season with Derby County, who ended with 11 points in 2007-08.

But a late header from Ryan Sessegnon condemned them to their 27th defeat of the season - a result that was even more painful for the Saints faithful after they had seen their side open the scoring through captain Jack Stephens.

Southampton, under interim manager Simon Rusk, will next travel to Leicester City, who will play alongside them in the Championship next season.

The Saints had became the first team in Premier League history to be relegated with as many as seven games remaining earlier this month.

And the meeting with the Foxes will assume even more significance now as it could be their last realistic chance of getting a point to avoid both the unwanted record and the moniker of the worst team in Premier League history.

They will then finish their campaign with games against Manchester City, Everton and Arsenal before trying to rebuild in the Championship next term.

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Southampton interim manager Simon Rusk has been speaking to BBC Sport following the defeat: "It is a cruel game. Last week we scored a late goal, this week we conceded a late goal. Of course it is a tough one to take, but we need to digest it and bounce back.

"I feel like there is much more effort and desire from the players and they are giving maximum effort in these games. Whether we deserved more or not, I think it evens out in the end. We just have to keep going and trying to improve.

"We need to take what was good from the game and take it into the next one. The overriding feeling at the minute is one of disappointment."

On Jack Stephens' goal: "Yes, delighted for him. He has been a real captain for us in recent weeks so I'm happy that he has scored. It was a nice set piece goal."

On hopes for the remainder of the season: "The main thing is that we have got the players fighting. I think the ers can see that and have connected with that. We want to take one game at a time, get as many points on the board as possible, and finish as strongly and positively as possible."

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Southampton have lost 14 Premier League home games this season, with only Watford in 2021-22 (15) losing more matches on home soil in a single campaign in the competition's history.

The Saints have dropped 28 points from winning positions in the Premier League this season, more than any other side.

Jack Stephens netted his first Premier League goal for Southampton since December 2019 against Aston Villa, ending a run of 79 games without finding the back of the net in the competition.

Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?

Have your say on Southampton's performance

What did you make of Fulham's display?

Come back to this page on Monday to find a selection of your replies

Five matches make up Saturday's Premier League action and BBC Sport will bring you every kick.

• Chelsea v Everton (12:30)

• Brighton v West Ham

• Newcastle v Ipswich - BBC Radio 5 Live commentary

• Southampton v Fulham

• Wolves v Leicester

All kick-off times 15:00 BST unless stated

Follow all of the action and reaction here

Southampton's draw with West Ham means they have equalled the points tally of Robbie Savage's useless Derby County side in 2007-08, but I still feel my 606 co-host has to go down as the Premier League's worst-ever captain.

I take my hat off to Saints fans, because they have stuck with their team through such a dismal season - and maybe they will have something to celebrate when they play Leicester next week.

I don't see them getting anything here, though. Fulham will be annoyed at letting their lead slip against Chelsea last time out, but they have got more quality than Southampton, and they will make it count.

Sutton's prediction: 0-2

Read the full predictions and have your say here

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Interim manager Simon Rusk says he is "incredibly honoured" to lead Southampton after an "arduous" journey into management.

Rusk, 43, has previously managed Stockport County and has also taken charge of England's Under-19s, as well has having taken interim charge of Saints for a spell in 2024.

Asked how he feels to be at the helm again for a spell, he told media: "Incredibly honoured.

"You've sweat blood to have these moments in your career and you your story. We all our story, the times of adversity - everyone has that, not just football people, everyone has that.

"For sure, I've had my moments of reflection - not many, I've got to say, I've been quite busy. But the moments I have been able to sit and reflect and think about the journey to get here - however it's arrived - to manage in the Premier League for this football club and have the privilege.

"It is a privilege. Even as a manager, it's a privilege if you lose a game to be the one to get to speak to your players; it's a privilege to be able to have this voice in the media here; it's a privilege to be able to share my thoughts and feelings on whether it be the good times or the bad times that I'm experiencing in the short team; it's a privilege to lead the players.

"For sure, I've had my reflections around that and every single moment that I'm able to stand there on the sideline, I do remind myself as I'm sure everyone does - the journey to get there was arduous at times and long.

"I think it's right for everyone to have those moments where they reflect upon that and I'm certainly doing that at the minute.

"But there's a job to be done and as much as I'm not here just enjoying the ride. I believe in my abilities as a coach and a manager, I believe in my track record, I believe in my experiences, and I'm finding that balance of enjoying it, but also pushing myself."

Millie Sian
BBC Sport journalist

Southampton interim boss Simon Rusk has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Fulham (kick-off 15:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• There were a few "knocks and niggles" after the 1-1 draw with West Ham United, but there is a "clean bill of health" going into this weekend's home game. There will be "a few decisions" to make around his starting XI and his bench, but it is a "good problem" to have.

• He will take achieving the best points-per-game ratio of any Southampton manager this season "with a pinch of salt". He explained: "The fundamental for us has been being together. We have been one group in of our goal and have been trying to turn that into performances on the pitch."

• His aim when taking on the interim managerial role was to "leave the team's self-esteem" better than when he found it. Therefore, he has been trying to "assess the positives" and not be "too cynical" about the club's position in the Premier League.

• Fulham will bring "a real challenge and a tough game" to St Mary's Stadium as they continue to fight for European football. He added: "We need to be spot on with our performance, and maybe need a little bit of luck, to get something out of the game. We know they have good qualities but we have to find the balance between preparing for that and focusing on our own preparation."

• When asked about the importance of finishing above Derby County's lowest-points record, he replied: "I'm not going to obsess over it. I can understand it - my head isn't in the sand - and hopefully we do take care of it, but that cannot be my main focus. It's negative energy and positive energy is what I'm going after at the minute."

• He feels "incredibly honoured" to have been given the opportunity to lead a Premier League team for the first time in his coaching career, adding: "I've had my moments of reflection - not many because I've been quite busy - but this is a privilege. Every single moment I have to stand on the sidelines, I do remind myself that the journey to get here was arduous and long."

• The club have been "up front and honest" with him about his current role and have given him "top drawer " day-to-day. He remains "really open-minded" and "ambitious" about his career path.

• However, he didn't know too much about the manager shortlist that has been drawn up by the club because his "focus and attention" has been on the players and staff he is currently working with.

• Rusk feels Chelsea loanee Lesley Ugochukwu has "great potential" and he is pleased to have given him more minutes in recent games. He added: "He is a young player that has a very athletic profile. He is perhaps still finding his way in the game, in of regular Premier League football, but it does take time to feel it out and understand the new environment."

Follow all of Thursday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Ray Hunt
Fan writer

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We did it! One whole point.

After weeks of mounting pressure, we finally have something to smile about. A very hard-earned point on the road at West Ham and coming from behind to level the record-low tally set by Derby County.

It is a point that feels like a win. Unlike the Crystal Palace heartbreak. After recent collapses to Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur, we were all starting to wonder whether we would hit that 11-point target.

The new challenge is to sur that. We have to fancy our chances in the final five games remaining.

Interim boss Simon Rusk has Saints playing with more confidence and we would certainly have been worth a lead at half-time. But once again, we could not capitalise on our chances and conceded in the opening stages of the second half.

We are all hoping this is a sign of things to come. Can we become harder to beat? Just maybe we can play with more freedom now that pressure has released. Hopefully the home form can turn around to give fans a reason to keep bums on seats.

Of our 11 points this season, six points have come away from home and a meagre five at St. Mary's Stadium. We need to energy from those travelling ers.

There's no doubt that the point at London Stadium is something to build on and with Fulham at home this weekend, can we see us play like we're not already relegated?

Here's hoping we can see St. Mary's stay full until till the final whistle for a change. It should now be a case of how many points we can get to make sure we head into the off-season with as much momentum as possible.

Find more from Ray Hunt at the In that Number podcast, external

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Southampton midfielder Tyler Dibling says his £100m price tag has become a bit of joke and his team-mates have been teasing him about it.

The club has reportedly put that hefty price tag on the 19-year-old because he is young and homegrown English talent.

Dibling has been linked with Newcastle and Manchester United while a host of Bundesliga clubs have also shown an interest.

"There's a few nicknames going around," said Dibling. "It is all jokes. Nobody takes it seriously. It's just a number. It's all fun.

"'Rambo' [Aaron Ramsdale] loves it to be fair. I'll miss a shot in training and he'll just go '90 million' or '80 million' as it goes down.

"It's all good fun but I'm just trying to practise every day and to get better. I just go in to train the best I can every day and work hard.

"At the end of the day, I love Southampton. I have been here since I was eight. It is such a great team and I am working to do big things with them."