Southampton

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Southampton manager Ivan Juric has seen reasons to be positive about his team in the early days of his spell in charge.

The Saints followed Sunday's 0-0 draw at Fulham with a 1-0 home loss to West Ham on Boxing Day, meaning Saints are nine points from safety in the Premier League.

"I knew before that I arrived here it would be very difficult but watching these two games, I think we have to be positive and think positive," the former Roma boss said.

"Against Fulham, we were tough. We were the better team [against West Ham] and we have to be positive and try at Crystal Palace."

Meanwhile, Juric says Germany international defender Armel Bella-Kotchap could still have a role to play at St Mary's Stadium.

Having spent last season on loan at PSV Eindhoven, Bella-Kotchap has made only one appearance for Saints this season in the Carabao Cup.

Juric said: "I saw him playing here two years ago and he was incredible for me. He started to play in the German national team and he has the potential.

"Now it is about him. I said to him to work really, really hard and we will see in a few weeks if he will be ready.

"I think Southampton needs him and we will help to give him a chance. Now it is only on him and if he wants it."

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We asked for your thoughts after Thursday's Premier League game between Southampton and West Ham.

Here are some of your comments:

Southampton fans

Cliff: We looked a lot more solid at the back and moved the ball quicker, but the lack of confidence, along with the quality in the final third and poor finishing, was the difference once again. Saints can improve their performances as much as we like but ultimately, it will come down to our same old problem: we simply don't have a quality finisher and don't score anywhere near enough goals.

John: When your luck is out, it can become very hard to remain positive; Saints certainly didn't deserve to lose.

M.Francis: One bad mistake at the back and Aaron Ramsdale should have cleared it. As soon as that goal went in, Saints heads dropped and in typical fashion, we missed too many chances. We need a clinical finisher in readiness for next season in the Championship.

Steve: Well that was different - pushing forward constantly and much improved. If we play like that for the rest of the season it could be quite exciting. It's a shame big Paul Onuachu didn't have his shooting head on we could have run away with this game. Overall very encouraging.

West Ham fans

Dave: Yet another substandard performance - we were lucky to get the win. Southampton's performance was better than their league position. We still lack that spark and Lopetegui doesn't know his best team or the players best positions. I am dreading the Liverpool result.

Leigh: Although Southampton had their fair enough amount of chances in front of goal, I thought West Ham were quite comfortable in defence. Unfortunately we lost Lukasz Fabanski in goal but Alphonse Areola was a worthy sub anyway. On the balance of play, Hammers just edged it and Jarrod Bowen took his chance well. Good decision for a change with VAR overturning the 'red' card to a yellow too. Fair play to Mr Atwell.

Stephen: Another lacklustre performance. Fortunately Southampton were not much better. Thankfully, we somehow won the game and three points. I expect we will finish somewhere around mid-table but I'm writing off this season which is so disappointing after a big spending spree in the summer.

Mark: It was three points. Nothing more. Even before Max Kilman and Fabianski's substitutions we were conceding the initiative to a team that has just six points. Mohammed Kudus was indifferent. He doesn't want to be out left and it shows. Without Bowen, we would be toast. A win but a desperately poor showing. Liverpool will eat us alive. Apart from improved possession, there is nothing at all to be cheerful about.

Highlights and analysis from Boxing Day's eight Premier League fixtures.

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

A new episode of Goin' Home With Adam And Jo is now available to download and listen to on BBC Sounds.

Adam Blackmore and Jo Tessem reflect on Ivan Juric's first game as Southampton boss after enduring a 1-0 loss at St Mary's against West Ham.

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

Ben Collins
BBC Sport journalist

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A death metal music fan in his younger years, Croatioan coach Ivan Juric said this week that he likes his teams to play in a similar style.

And there was a glimpse of what 'death metal football' might look like in the 49-year-old's first game as Southampton boss.

He brought in 6ft 7in striker Paul Onuachu for his second league start of the season, suggesting Juric wants his new team to be more direct.

And it soon became apparent that Juric had instructed his players to get the ball wide as soon as possible, with wing-backs Yukinari Sugawara and Kyle Walker-Peters encouraged to push on and get the ball into the box.

That approach created several chances in the first half, with Onuachu having two headers saved, although the Saints did not manage to take advantage.

Their intensity dropped after the interval, with West Ham grabbing the game's only goal, and while Juric says Premier League survival remains 'extremely difficult', this performance gives him hope.

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New Southampton manager Ivan Juric spoke to Match of the Day after the Boxing Day defeat by West Ham: "I think we did a really good game. We played much better than West Ham and created lots of chances, especially in the first half.

"We didn't score and we conceded one goal where we don't have to concede, but I'm very satisfied that after four or five days of work [in training] the players are starting to press hard, to steal the balls, to shoot a lot on the opponents' goal. There's a lot of things [that I'm happy with] but I'm not happy with the result."

On the team's lack of self-belief so far this season: "I don't think it's happened this season that the team shoots 18 times and create those kind of chances. I see one very good Southampton, very concrete, with high pressure. The players feel it, they have to adjust to believe and to go on.

"They are listening and they want to improve. Of course, if you have a lot of chances and you don't score, then confidence is a problem."

On task of keeping Southampton in the Premier League: "It will be extremely difficult but after today's game, I'm more positive than before because I saw that my players can play better than West Ham - or at the same level. There are a lot of things to gett better, some details, but we have to be confident that we can go on."

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Southampton had 11 shots in the first half against West Ham, which was already more than they'd had in total in any of their previous nine games. It was their most in the first half of a Premier League game since February 2023 against Wolves (12).

Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?

Have your say on Southampton's performance

What did you make of West Ham's display?

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

There are eight matches in the Premier League on Thursday, and we will bring you every moment.

• Manchester City v Everton (12:30)

• Bournemouth v Crystal Palace

• Chelsea v Fulham

• Newcastle v Aston Villa

• Nottingham Forest v Tottenham

• Southampton v West Ham

• Wolves v Manchester United (17:30)

• Liverpool v Leicester (20:00)

Kick-off time 15:00 GMT unless stated

Follow all the action and reaction here

Chris Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League games this season, against a variety of guests.

This week, he takes on Eats Everything, aka DJ and producer Daniel Pearce.

Sutton's prediction: 1-1

There has not been much Christmas cheer for Southampton but they did at least keep a clean sheet against Fulham and new manager Ivan Juric would probably be happy with another bore draw in his first game in charge.

West Ham also picked up a point over the weekend, against Brighton, but they really got away with one there - I was so unlucky with my prediction of a Seagulls win, because they absolutely battered them.

The Hammers have got some really quality players, like Jarrod Bowen, and I keep thinking they are eventually going to get going and find some consistency, but it has not happened yet.

I'm still not convinced by West Ham boss Julen Lopetegui, and I don't really know what to expect from Juric, so the safest prediction here is probably another 1-1 draw - which would be West Ham's third in a row, all against south coast clubs.

Eats Everything's prediction: 1-1

Southampton will be hoping for a new manager bounce, but West Ham have been decent in their past couple of games - they got battered by Bournemouth but showed they were resilient, and it was similar against Brighton. I am going to go for them getting another draw here.

Read the full predictions and have your say

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For me, wherever I played, I'd always see where the first game was, where the last game was, and where we were at Christmas.

There is such a big difference between being at home on Boxing Day versus being away because, depending on what your manager is like, if you've got an away game there is a chance you're training on Christmas Day.

Some of the toughest times I had was when we had away games on Boxing Day and we had to come in to train at four or five on Christmas. That's when everything is just starting at home and everyone is really enjoying themselves and you have to leave.

If you lose you are sat in the hotel having walked away from friends and family all for no points. It's not the best feeling and as a consequence you bring home some of that disappointment with you.

But, in reality, you just know it is the busiest time of the year. The floodlights are always on for the games, the conditions get that little bit tougher, you've got games it feels like every three or four days.

I think it's an exciting part of the season because you can gain real, significant momentum but ultimately it comes down to are you winning games.

I think the Christmas period itself can be tough if you have got family but in reality it always feels nicer when you get that win on Boxing Day. The atmosphere in the stadiums is a little bit different, the atmosphere among the players is a bit different.

You're very thankful to get the chance to do what you do, but if you end up losing on Boxing Day or around that spell it is rubbish because it almost feels like it was a waste of time with all the efforts you put in.

But, I get it. The fans love it, there is a lot of clamour around it. You lose track of days just like everyone else does after Christmas and before New Year but it is great to play in front of those types of crowds and it just does feel different playing during that week or two.

Nedum Onuoha was speaking to BBC Sport's Nat Hayward

Ray Hunt
Fan writer

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This year has been full of ups and downs - quite literally. We have seen positive and negative records broken.

January to May was a period for the club that no fan will ever forget. Russell Martin took a forlorn, hapless and relegated squad and flipped them into Championship contenders, culminating in a day out at Wembley and, ultimately, promotion.

We set a club record 25-game unbeaten streak in all competitions, a record which had previously stood for 103 years.

Turn the page to part two - and you can see the huge gulf. It has been a period to forget.

Only one win this season, countless errors made, two consecutive home games conceding five goals and we are already onto our third manager of the campaign.

We knew it would be tough, but we didn't quite expect this did we?

We are desperately trying to avoid Derby County's 11-point total from 2007-08.

The moment of the year is undoubtedly the day out at Wembley. It is not too often that we Saints fans make the trip to the famous arch.

We had the heartbreak of the 2017 League Cup final, the memorable League Trophy win over Carlisle United in 2010, but the 2024 play-off final tops the lot.

To be among the 35,000 travelling Saints fans and witness the trophy lift was a special moment. For me, that triumph outweighs the negatives of this year.

One thing is certain: it is never dull.

Here's hoping for a positive turnaround in 2025 under Ivan Juric.

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

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Former Premier League striker Chris Sutton speaking about Southampton's survival chances on BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club: "They've got no chance, it's just not going to happen, they're too far adrift and unless there's a Christmas miracle in January about bringing players in, Ivan Juric is working with the same type of players. There might be slight tweaks but he's got a hell of a job and it must be about the future."

Listen to Monday Night Club

Josh Lobley
BBC Sport journalist

Southampton boss Ivan Juric has been speaking to the media before day's Premier League game against West Ham (kick-off 15:00 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Juric revealed that he was first contacted by Southampton two years ago: "It was the first time I started to think about Southampton. I was the coach at Torino at the time and stayed there, but I always liked thinking about Southampton. I know lots of players because of that. It was my wish to come here."

• He gave his thoughts on the current squad: "I saw some good things and some bad things. The team has potential and can do much better than they are doing. I'm very optimistic we can do better and start to get points."

• He was asked what style he wants to bring: "It's a high-pressure style, and I want our team to be competitive and solid. With time, I want to get better in possession and attacking - but the first thing is that we are competitive in every game."

• Juric added: ""What I really like to do is improve players. I am obsessed. If you give me the player whose value is five, after one year it's eight. I like to work and analyse. My satisfaction is individual players getting better and the team getting better."

• Juric said the Premier League is the "best league in the world" and one of his inspirations from the competition is former Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa: "I was watching a lot of games from him. His style of football is not the same [as mine], but I like the way he thinks about football."

• He was asked about potential activity in January's transfer window: "We have time to understand the team and what we need. If it's possible to change something, then we will change."

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BBC Radio Solent sports editor Adam Blackmore spoke to the Goin' Home With Adam And Jo podcast about Sunday's draw with Fulham:

"It is the perfect platform for Ivan Juric to take over from; a clean sheet and a point. It's something to build on.

"Against a Fulham side who have scored in their past 15 Premier League games, to keep them to nil is a great effort."

On Juric's possible tactics, former Saints player Jo Tessem added: "Could we play with two up front? I think we would be more of a threat if we played 3-5-2. We have to score goals to stay up.

"We have got to get forward and cross the ball, which Juric has been quite good at in the teams that he has managed. We have got to learn how to cross it and learn to get people in the box.

"If we play with Paul [Onuachu], we need a quick one beside him. We have a lot of pace in the team but [Cameron] Archer seems to be the only one who has used his pace in the right way."

Listen to the full discussion here

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BBC Chief Football writer Phil McNulty has been answering your questions on all things Premier League.

Sienna asked: Do you think all three promoted sides will once again go straight back down again this season? If not, which of the non-promoted sides do you think could be relegated?

Phil Answered: I did predict before the start of the season that the three promoted sides would go back down and I still fear that will be the case.

Southampton have surely gone. Six points at Christmas is almost impossible to escape from, while Leicester City look a real concern defensively to me, as proved by losing so heavily to Wolves on Sunday.

I think Wolves have the quality to get themselves into a safe position under new coach Vitor Pereira while Everton and Crystal Palace also have enough to steer clear of the bottom three.

Strange as it may seem, Ipswich have looked OK to me at times this season but then you see results like Saturday's against Newcastle and it puts it all into perspective.

So, the three who came up will go back down in my opinion.

Josh Lobley
BBC Sport journalist

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The Ivan Juric era has officially started at Southampton.

The Croatian will be tasked with keeping the Saints in the top flight from a position where it has never been done before in Premier League history. Is he the right man for the job?

After finishing his playing career at Genoa, Juric has spent all his time as a manager so far in Italy. He has managed six clubs across Italy's top three divisions, including Hellas Verona, Torino and, most recently, Roma.

Saints fans may be concerned about Juric's capabilities based off his time at Roma. The 49 year-old was dismissed last month after picking up just four wins from 12 matches in the capital - though Roma's ownership have sacked three managers in 2024 alone and it could be argued that Juric was not given a fair chance to make an impact.

Juric has a knack for improving teams towards the bottom end of the table - which will be music to the ears of many Southampton fans. In 2019, he took over at newly promoted Hellas Verona and guided them to back-to-back top-half finishes in Serie A.

Following his time in Verona, Juric made the switch to Torino. After finishing 16th and 17th in the two previous seasons, the club then ended in the top half in three consecutive seasons under his leadership.

So, despite the difficulties at Roma, guiding teams who are near the bottom of the table to mid-table security has been Juric's bread and butter over the past few seasons.

However, the task at St Mary's could very well be the most difficult he will face.

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We asked for your thoughts after Sunday's Premier League game between Fulham and Southampton.

Here are some of your comments:

Fulham fans

Gabriel: A very strange game. We have to be more clinical if we are to have any chance of competing for a European football place. However, it was fantastic to see Josh King make his debut and, considering our growing and concerning injury list, we just have to move on.

Ben: It wasn't awful, but it was ultimately two points dropped. They were stubborn and we didn't have the final ball to produce the goal we needed. Adama's aside, there was no clear chance for us.

Robert: We weren't hungry enough. We didn't put the Saints' defence under enough pressure when they had the ball. Iwobi was wasteful. The manager was too slow to bring his substitutes on. Two points dropped against the worst team in the league. So frustrating.

Southampton fans

Richard: A definite improvement. Hard work, well-organised, but still toothless in attack. Any recovery must be based on a tighter defence, which seems to be recognised. Thank heavens for the lack of short passing in our own area. A few green shoots!

David: Better from Saints. We seemed a bit more confident going forward and we look prepared to ditch Russ-ball 'pass it out from the back' when needed. We would have lost this game, but for Ramsdale, with two fine stops.

Mike: This was not the usual defensive-error-strewn Saints performance, so we should be grateful for that at least. But where on earth is a goal going to come from and why is Adam Armstrong starting games when he can't buy a goal in the Premier League? I'm hoping the new manager is going to shake things up and select players who were left out in the cold under Russell Martin. Sulemana, Onuachu and Bella-Kotchap should get some game time.

Noah: That is one of the best games Southampton have had this season. I thought we were brilliant playing it out from the back and we were fantastic down the wing. I'm just waiting to see what we will be like when Ivan Juric trains the team, and to see our performance against West Ham on Boxing Day.