Azaz: Saints showing “character and determination”
Finn Azaz discusses Southampton’s growing belief that he felt was evident as they ground out a 1-0 victory against Norwich City.
Saints were made to work hard for all three points against an in-form Norwich side, but Azaz felt that the manner of the win underlined the team’s growing belief.
“Yeah, we had to dig in. It wasn’t perfect, but we showed our character and determination,” he said.
“We dug deep and those are the hardest games, but those are the best ones to win. The most important thing is to win for momentum.
“They’re obviously a good team, you can see that. We weren’t perfect but, like I say, we dug in.”
The midfielder highlighted the progress made within the squad in recent months, crediting both his teammates and the manager for building a stronger mentality.
“I think within the squad it was there, and then the manager’s obviously had a huge impact in bringing us together and making that stronger, and that belief. Now we’re just like a machine,” he said.
The game's decisive moment came from a well-worked set-piece routine, with the midfielder anticipating the flick-on before finishing instinctively.
“We work on the throw-ins quite a bit and I knew what was coming,” he explained.
“We’ve got different things that I don’t want to give too much away for my opponents. Obviously a good flick-on by Cyle, but I knew what was coming and it was just down to instinct really.
“Like I say, it was just instinct. I didn’t think about it too much, it just happened pretty quick.”
The victory moves Saints into the top six, but Azaz insists the squad’s focus is already set on climbing even higher.
“Obviously it’s what we were working towards, but to be honest the mentality in the dressing room now is that we’re looking at fifth, we’re looking at fourth, we’re looking at the next game,” he said.
“We’re not thinking 'we’re in sixth now'. We’re looking at where we want to go.”
