Former Southampton striker Charlie Austin has called for Saints players to start performing in the Premier League if they want to avoid relegation.
The south coast club have won just five league matches this season and are rooted to the bottom of the table. They come into this weekend’s game against Leicester City off the back of defeats to Leeds United and League Two Grimsby Town in the league and FA Cup respectively, as Austin made his feelings known about his ex-side’s form.
Speaking to Talksport, Austin was firm in his opinion of Ruben Selles’ team.
“You have to look at yourself in the mirror and think: ‘Am I doing enough?’ and I think a lot of the players are not right now.
“They’ve got to look at themselves as a group, roll their sleeves up and dig deep and that’s when you find who the true characters really are.”
💪 "They've got to roll their sleeves up and dig deep!"
😠 "As a player, you have to ask yourself if you're doing enough…these Southampton players aren't!"
Charlie Austin calls for #SaintsFC players to step up if they want to avoid relegation from the #PL. pic.twitter.com/sQCvmO2oo2
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) March 3, 2023
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A result against Leicester for the Saints this weekend could go a long way to giving them some confidence going forward because the games don’t get any easier for them after this weekend, with Man United, Brentford, and Tottenham all coming up consecutively in the next three weeks.