Four defeats in five games before the break means Ralph Hasenhüttl’s side are still involved in the relegation battle
What was the situation like when the league was suspended? A superb six-game unbeaten run over the
Christmas period helped take the heat off Southampton following a grim autumn (aside from an enjoyable 4-0 win over Portsmouth at Fratton Park) but four defeats from their past five league games means they are still peering over their shoulders, despite what, on the face of it, is a healthy seven-point buffer above the relegation zone. As Ralph Hasenhüttl has said, they cannot afford to get complacent and he lambasted his team’s defending at West Ham as “an absolute joke” the week before coming unstuck at home to Newcastle last time out, a game in which Moussa Djenepo was sent off. The winger has a three-match ban to serve.
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