Southampton's Mauricio Pellegrino Calls for 'Togetherness' Ahead of Vital Stoke Match
Mauricio Pellegrino has underlined the importance of togetherness ahead of Southampton's massive Premier League clash at home to Stoke City on Saturday as they continue their fight against relegation.
The Saints head into the match in 16th position, following the 1-1 draw with Burnley, with Stoke just two places and one point behind them in a relegation clash that could provide a huge boost to the winner as the race for Premier League survival continues.
A win at St Mary's would provide the Saints with a huge boost ahead of the final weeks of the season, while anything less could see them slip back into the bottom three.
Their manager, Mauricio Pellegrino, has now called for togetherness from everyone at the club as Southampton continue to battle for their Premier League status.
"We have to put everything on the pitch, try to finish empty with out energy and give 100 per cent. We need togetherness from every single fan, from every single player, to be together, to try to play our football and to be brave in character," he told Southampton's website.
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Pellegrino, who has struggled as Southampton manager since replacing Claude Puel in the summer, will be ruing his side's bad luck after Sunday's draw against Burnley, their 12th stalemate of the season.
The Argentine manager called for improvement from his side as they continue their struggle in the Premier League despite seeing his side edge fellow strugglers West Brom in the FA Cup last weekend.
"We have to think about us, about how we can improve in different aspects, and we have to go forward," Pellegrino added.
Southampton have only scored 29 goals in their 28 Premier League games so far this season and will be need a better showing in front of goal on Saturday if they are to come away with three points against Paul Lambert's Stoke.
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Southampton head into Saturday's game in struggling form after winning just one of their last 15 Premier League games, sitting one point above the relegation zone.
The main reason behind this form has been their inability to finish off the chances they create, with top scorer Charlie Austin still out injured.
Pellegrino and the marching Saints faithful will be hoping to turn a few of those draws into wins and a few of those losses into draws as the season winds down to a nervous end.
