da mrbet： In his pre-Newcastle press conference, Southampton manager Mark Hughes claimed (via the Daily Echo) that his side would be able rectify their recent poor results by simply starting to take the chances they are creating, hinting that changes upfront may be the key.
What did he say?
da aviator aposta： “I think I would be more concerned if we were coming out of games looking at chances created and seeing a low number.
“In the games we failed to score in, we had clear cut chances in every single one of them.
“We need to up our conversation rate…
“…In terms of shots on the opposition goal we are up in the top five or six.
What did he really mean?
Hughes is right that the sign of a struggling side is not creating chances at all, so Southampton fans should take hope from the fact that they are in fact fifth in terms of shots per game, despite being 16th in the Premier League table and only having scored six goals in nine matches.
The Saints boss is now publicly putting pressure on his strikers to start netting those chances – something that is certainly necessary as summer loan signing Danny Ings is currently the only striker in the squad to have scored a league goal.
Manolo Gabbiadini, Shane Long and Charlie Austin must all become more clinical if the South Coast side are to hoist themselves out of a relegation battle.
Changes upfront?
Given that whoever has partnered Ings upfront has struggled so far this season, Hughes will be feeling frustrated that he can’t make significant changes to improve their fortunes in front of goal.
Sam Gallagher was loaned out to the Championship with Birmingham last season and netted seven times in all competitions though, and it may be time to give him a chance in the Premier League.
The other option would be to play Liverpool loanee Ings upfront on his own, but with the support of an attacking midfielder such as fellow summer signing Stuart Armstrong. It’s clear from before his two major injuries in his nightmare stint at Anfield that Ings knows where the back of the net is, and given a more naturally creative partner he could have more clear-cut chances rather than the snapshots which are currently papering over the cracks with statistics.
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