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Nigel Adkins: Backed by midfielder Cork
Southampton's Jack Cork was quick to back under-pressure manager Nigel Adkins after Saturday's impressive, if ultimately frustrating, 1-1 draw against Swansea.
Saints came into the match under no illusions of how important it was to pick up a victory, as speculation mounted over the future of their manager.
Adkins was buoyed by his players' response at St Mary's, where they dominated throughout and looked on course for victory when Morgan Schneiderlin nodded them into a 64th-minute lead.
However, like so many times already this campaign, a defensive mishap allowed Swansea to snatch a point and deny Adkins a much-needed victory.
"The gaffer has done great here these two years," Cork said.
"The lads have always given their all over these two years and they're not going to stop doing it now.
"Just because things aren't really going our way, the lads are always going to play the way we have played and keep playing for the gaffer.
"We know the way he likes to play and the way he likes to do it and I know the lads all like having him here. He's a good gaffer."
Saturday was Cork's first Premier League appearance of the season after a frustrating run of injuries.
After returning from Olympic duty with Great Britain, the 23-year-old picked up an ankle injury in a pre-season fixture at Bristol City.
Cork returned in late September but limped off 81 minutes into his comeback match against Sheffield Wednesday in the Capital One Cup with a knee injury.
He has now overcome that setback and impressed on his first league game of the campaign, playing the full 90 minutes on Saturday.
"I feel really good," Cork said. "I thought I was only going to get an hour or 70 minutes, but I felt really good.
"The manager asked me at half-time how I felt and again about the hour mark and I said I felt fine. I stayed on and felt good.
"I am happy with how I played, it was just disappointing because we played really well and the lads have done great.
"It is just so unfortunate with the position we're in we haven't got the three points because we desperately need them at the minute.
"But if we keep playing like that and we keep playing the way we are, I am sure it will come along eventually.
"It is always hard when you think you're going to win and that happens.
"We know we did reasonably well and we've got a massive game against QPR so hopefully we can go there and take some points."
The man to deny Cork and his team-mates was a former Southampton academy graduate.
Two weeks previously Gareth Bale had helped Tottenham to a 2-1 victory at St Mary's, and on Saturday afternoon Nathan Dyer came off the bench to deny the south coast club all three points.
"I felt we put in a few good performances in the last couple of games and it is always going away to a team like Southampton that need the win and we were happy to come away with a draw," Dyer said.
"Southampton will always be in my heart. It was where I was from when I was eight years old.
"It is where I learned my trade, I've always had respect for Southampton and I hope they turn it around.
"I wanted to show my appreciation [in my celebration]. I was at the club for a long time and I just wanted to keep it to a minimum."
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