Ryan Bertrand says Southampton's relegation threat was wake-up call
Thursday 10 May 2018 19:30, UK
Southampton defender Ryan Bertrand believes their flirtation with relegation has been a "wake-up call" and that complacency could have crept in.
The Saints all but preserved their top-flight status with a 1-0 win at Swansea on Tuesday which leaves them three points clear of the drop zone with a far superior goal difference to the Swans who are the only team left that can catch them.
Bertrand thinks the players only have themselves to blame for getting into trouble at the wrong end of the table.
Speaking to Sky Sports News, he said: "It wasn't necessarily an ideal season but having seen the progress that Southampton have made year after year you possibly get a bit complacent on and off the field.
"It was kind of like a wake-up call that maybe we needed as a whole and hopefully we can analyse all of those things and hopefully move on again next season.
Southampton have improved dramatically since Mark Hughes replaced Mauricio Pellegrino in March on a short-term contract until the end of the season and the England international believes the Welshman is the right person to take the club forward.
"He's been amazing since he's come in, Bertrand added. "Hughes and his team have come in and set very high standards. They have accepted nothing less than a hundred per cent day in day out.
"The players really bought into what he's done, he gave us a lot of confidence and he's had clear game plans.
"I think when you get that buy-in from the players and you are maintaining that one hundred per cent level throughout the week you can go into games and get the results you need."
Southampton are not mathematically safe but Swansea have to beat Stoke on the final day and there will need to be a 10-goal swing with Saints' game against Manchester City for Hughes' side to be relegated.
Despite those clear odds in Southampton's favour Bertrand insists it will be business as usual.
He went on: "We're back in training and preparing not settling down. We're going to go out and prepare for the game as we would have done during the season and make sure we get the job done."
