Hughes already threatening to ‘lessen the talent’

Mark Hughes is ready to be ruthless if it means Southampton remain in the Premier League.

The Welshman last week oversaw a 3-0 defeat at West Ham in his first league match in charge, making Sunday’s fixture at Arsenal and next week’s at home to Chelsea even more crucial.

His team remain in 18th place because of their consistent struggles under the sacked Mauricio Pellegrino, who largely persevered with the same players.

But after being surprised by last week’s poor performance Hughes is prepared to make significant changes.

Their lack of an attacking threat had been Southampton’s greatest weakness even before this season, with Manolo Gabbiadini one widely perceived to have underperformed.

Hughes said of his new team’s plight: “The longer it goes on I have to make decisions that will be best for the team and the club.

“It should be a prerequisite that they should be ready to give every single time they come in, and for the most part they have been.

“It’s going to be difficult this weekend because they are all showing me they all want to be part of it and want to address the situation.

“We haven’t got time to wait for form to change and players to come to terms with it. I’ve got to look at the group and see who’s ready to go and who is in the best frame of mind to get the job done.

“If that means on occasions that you possibly lessen the talent in the group to make you more solid then sometimes those are decisions that need to be made but it’s about getting results at this stage.

“We are looking at all options we have before us. Some players will grab the shirt, others will have the shirt but let it go too readily, and we have to pick players who are ready for the games ahead of us.”

Defensive midfielder Mario Lemina faces a late fitness test to determine whether he has fully recovered from a virus before Hughes selects his starting XI, while Sam McQueen has already been ruled out with a groin injury.

On Arsenal and their 4-1 Europa League victory over CSKA Moscow, the Southampton manager added: “They will be delighted with results and they were excellent going forward. Given that they have very attack-minded players sometimes that leaves them exposed.

“The opposition did have good opportunities and didn’t make the most of them. If we are able, which I feel we are capable of, to create similar opportunities I would expect us to put them away.

“That’s encouraging because we have seen that they are not rock solid. They are a good side clearly, and you have to stay in the game and can’t allow them good opportunities in and around your box because they’ve got the talent to unlock you. We have good talent going the other way so that will test them.”