Ruben Selles insists he is not overlooking Southampton’s January signings due to a lack of quality after his side slid closer to Premier League relegation.
Paul Onuachu and Mislav Orsic were left out of Saints’ squad for Thursday evening’s damaging 1-0 loss to Bournemouth, while £22million club record signing Kamaldeen Sulemana was restricted to 14 minutes from the bench.
Defeat to the Cherries at St Mary’s left bottom club Southampton six points from safety with only five games to go.
Manager Selles, who replaced the sacked Nathan Jones in February, pointed to the size of his squad as he refuted suggestions he does not rate the recent arrivals.
“Mislav was in the squad last week and Onuachu was also in the squad last week, I don’t think it is the same ones (being left out),” said the Spaniard.
“I don’t think it is a lack of quality, it is about decisions.
“I need to make decisions and then I have to give to you some comment on that. It is not about the quality of the boys.”
Ghana winger Sulemana has struggled to nail down a regular starting role following his move from Rennes, while £15.8m former Genk striker Onuachu has not started in the league since February.
Croatia winger Orsic, who cost a reported £6m from Dinamo Zagreb, has played only six minutes for Saints in the top flight and not featured at all under Selles.
“I will not evaluate the board,” replied the coach, when asked if the club had bought players who are not good enough.
“I have a big squad with 30 or 31 players in the first team. And then of course we talk always about the players who are not there.
“I just know that I have to manage a big squad.
“We can defend any decision with some different parameters but the reality is that because we have that big a squad we will always talk about the ones that are not in the squad.”
Southampton’s uphill survival mission continues on Sunday with a daunting trip to Champions League-chasing Newcastle.
Selles is hopeful captain James Ward-Prowse will be fit to lead the team at St James’ Park after being forced off by illness at half-time on a soggy south-coast evening.
“He wanted to play but with the weather conditions that we had during the first half it was too much for him, so he ran out of energy,” Selles said of the England midfielder, who had a sore throat.
“I need to speak with the doctor. I think he will be OK but with those things the doctor needs to let me know.”
Marcus Tavernier’s deflected strike moved Bournemouth seven points clear of the drop zone, while VAR denied Southampton substitute Che Adams a late equaliser due to offside.
Adams’ 89th-minute finish initially looked set to compound Gary O’Neil’s frustration after the visitors were denied a second-half penalty when Jan Bednarek handled Ryan Christie’s cross.
“I don’t see any difference between that and some of the ones we’ve had given against us this year,” said the Cherries boss.
“His arm’s a long way from his body, the ball’s going into a dangerous area, I can’t see why.
“To have it dismissed so quickly…I remember sitting in our dugout when they go against us for ages waiting, they’re watching eight different camera angles being played in slow motion.
“This one, maybe an eight-second check and then we’re told it’s clear. And then I see the replay and I cannot believe that’s not been given as a penalty.”
Postecoglou: Spurs have a confidence problem to overcome
Ange Postecoglou says that Tottenham need to "overcome" their low confidence after suffering a 4-2 defeat to Liverpool on Sunday.
Spurs slipped to their fourth consecutive Premier League defeat, being left to bemoan their slow start as they found themselves 4-0 down by the hour mark thanks to goals from Mohamed Salah, Andrew Robertson, Cody Gakpo and Harvey Elliott.
Richarlison came off the bench to salvage some pride for Spurs, scoring one before setting up Son Heung-min for a goal on his 300th Premier League appearance.
Spurs had the opportunity to cut the gap to the top four after Aston Villa’s defeat to Brighton, but they remain seven points off a Champions League spot.
Postecoglou’s side still have a game in hand over the Villans, though he was sure that Spurs would be able to put their recent poor run behind them.
Asked if Spurs had a confidence problem, Postecoglou told Sky Sports: "Maybe in the front third there is.
"It probably is a bit of a lack of confidence, but again, that's something the guys have to work through.
"You have to find a way to overcome that because, ultimately, if you don't put pressure on the opposition in the front third after you've worked your way up there, they're going to get comfortable with their position."
Spurs have won just one of their last nine Premier League away games, failing to win any of the last five.
Despite that run extending at Anfield, Postecoglou highlighted what he thought was an improvement on their recent performances.
He continued: "Obviously a hugely disappointing outcome for us but at least we were more like ourselves today in terms of our football.
"Our last two away games at Newcastle and Chelsea, apart from the results which weren't great either, we just didn't try and play our football.
"I thought today, even in the first half, some of our football, our pressing was back to where it should be."
Roma 1-1 Juventus: Juve miss chance to close gap to second after draw with Roma
Juventus were held to a 1-1 draw at Roma on Sunday, missing the chance to close in on Milan in second place in Serie A.
Roma took the lead after 15 minutes when Romelu Lukaku found himself in the perfect position to tap in the rebound from a Bryan Cristante shot.
Bremer levelled with a header for Juventus just after the half-hour mark when Federico Chiesa picked him out inside the box from a corner.
Both sides had chances to find a winner in the final minutes, with Roma keeper Mile Svilar making a fingertip save to push Manuel Locatelli's volley over the bar.
Third-placed Juventus have 66 points, five fewer than Milan, who drew 3-3 with Genoa earlier on Sunday. Roma are fifth with 60 points.
Data Debrief: Leading from the back
Since scoring his first Serie A goal in the 2019-20 season, Bremer is the defender with the most headed goals in the Big-5 European leagues, netting 13 in total. Each of his last seven goals have been headers.
His goal was enough to earn Juventus a point today, but it means that they have drawn each of their last four in the competition - a first since February-March 2012 under Antonio Conte.
Chelsea 8-0 Bristol City: Blues rout hands Hayes perfect home send off
Guro Reiten starred as Chelsea thrashed already-relegated Bristol City 8-0 to keep their title hopes alive in the Women's Super League on Sunday.
The Norwegian scored four goals, netting the opener from the penalty spot to get Emma Hayes' last home game in charge off to the best start.
She scored the other three in the second half in just over 20 minutes, while teeing up Agnes Beever-Jones for the seventh goal with just two minutes left.
Beever-Jones got two, with Sjoeke Nusken and Niamh Charles also adding to the scoreline to eradicate the goal-difference advantage that Manchester City, who lost to Arsenal earlier on Sunday, had over them.
Chelsea move to within three points of the Citizens, with a game in hand over them, remaining in the fight to lift their fifth-consecutive league title.
Data Debrief:
Chelsea have scored eight goals in a game for the first time since December 2022 against Leicester City, a match they also won 8-0.
The Blues have scored in their last six games in the WSL, though it does not come close to their longest run of games with a goal in the competition - a run of 20 from April 2023 to February 2024.
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