'Something has to give'
- Published
Former Southampton player Jo Tessem says they are not good enough at playing out from the back so "something has to give" if Saints are to survive this season in the Premier League.
The catalogue of defensive errors that led to Flynn Downes presenting Dominik Szoboszlai with the chance to score Liverpool's first goal on Sunday was the seventh time this season they have made a mistake that has contributed directly to goal.
"In the first half of the game we were trying to play possession football, in our half, when there wasn't actually any space to play it," Tessem said on Goin' Home With Adam And Jo. "Liverpool were set up to punish us. They were just waiting.
"Some of it comes down to the responsibility of the players - but Russell Martin has said it is his ideas and style, so the main responsibility lies on him. He is the one who is saying that is how we are going to play.
"We are here in the Premier League and you play to stay in the league, not to go down. If the style of play clearly isn't good enough for it - and we are clearly not good enough at it - then something has to give.
"We don't need big changes - so I'm not saying just boot the ball up long - but the possession football you have has to come from smart play that stretches the opponent.
"I don't see them creating space for one another. These are the things that make you better in the Premier League."