Under-fire Southampton manager Mauricio Pellegrino has been speaking to Sky Sports about his side’s battle to stay in the Premier League this season, and he will leave the club’s fans furious after almost excusing his disappointing record this term by claiming that the fight against relegation in the English top flight gains more worldwide interest than the title race.
Saints slipped back into the bottom three following their 2-0 defeat against Liverpool at St Mary’s last weekend, with the likes of Newcastle United, Huddersfield Town and Swansea City all putting in impressive performances to pick up three points.
Pellegrino has been talking about what his side need to do to ensure they stay up in the remaining 11 fixtures of the season, but has also hinted that the supporters should relish being in the relegation scrap even though they have secured four top-eight finishes in a row before the current campaign.
The Argentine boss told Sky Sports: “In this moment you need to be really brave and you have to show your character, to be strong enough to challenge in this situation.
“It’s difficult [to be brave], it’s not easy. But, also it’s a really nice challenge because the most beautiful thing in football is that we are competitive people. If not it’s impossible to be at this level.
“It’s more difficult the situation in the bottom of the table than in the top, because Manchester City is away [with] a lot of points. But in the bottom of the table, every person that I know from different countries, it’s about watching the game from the relegation.”
Southampton have a break from the Premier League this weekend when they face West Bromwich Albion in the fifth round of the FA Cup at the Hawthorns on Saturday.
