Nigel Adkins backs Southampton to survive

Nigel Adkins

Share this story





Former Southampton boss Nigel Adkins feels the club will be able to survive in the Premier League this coming season despite the exodus of their manager and five key players.

The 49-year-old current Reading chief has been an interested observer this summer as the Saints initially lost manager Mauricio Pochettino to Tottenham, before Rickie Lambert, Adam Lallana, Luke Shaw, Dejan Lovren and Calum Chambers all departed.

French midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin has also handed in a transfer request as he attempts to push through a move to join Pochettino at Spurs, but Saints chairman Ralph Krueger is adamant that there will be no further departures from the club.

Incoming boss Ronald Koeman has so far brought in Ryan Bertrand on a loan deal, while Graziano Pelle and Dusan Tadic are the other new arrivals.

Further new signings are in the pipeline and Adkins, who earned back-to-back promotions from League One to the Premier League with Southampton between 2010 and 2012, before being sacked in January 2013, believes the club’s fans will also play a big part on helping the new-look team survive.

He told Sky Sports News: “There’s going to be a turnaround but the supporters are going to get behind the team as they always do because they are magnificent down there.

“The club will sort itself out and like with everything there is always going to be a transition of players.

“The club is bigger than anything that goes on and the supporters are always the heart of that club.”

Leave a comment