Gill: There will be changes for Watford tie
Assistant manager Matt Gill has promised there will be changes to the Southampton team ahead of Sunday’s Emirates FA Cup fourth-round tie at Watford.
Saints drew 1-1 at Vicarage Road last month, forming part of a 21-match unbeaten run in all competitions – a club record in the Football League era.
Gill is determined to extend that run and progress to the last 16, but admits he and manager Russell Martin also have one eye on a hectic upcoming schedule that will see Saints play ten league games between the start of February and mid-March, with the potential for further cup ties too.
“We certainly want to win the game,” he said. “There will be some changes, of course, and lots of the players deserve to play.
“I think a real strength of ours over the period of our unbeaten games is that everyone’s been used. I think Russ spoke about the stat about most goals from subs, so the players need to be ready.
“They also deserve an opportunity to perform on the pitch, so there is a balance to be had and we need to find that balance to make sure we’re really competitive for the game.
“We’re going to need everyone between now and the end [of the season] anyway, so we need everybody to be as ready as they can be.
“Minutes on the pitch is vital with that, and we’ve obviously got a huge February and March coming up, with lots of games, so we need everyone to be ready to step on the pitch and perform how we need them to.”
Kamaldeen Sulemana joins in training at Staplewood this week
Both Martin and Gill have said new signing Joe Rothwell will be involved at Watford, while the assistant boss also offered an update on injured trio Kamaldeen Sulemana, Samuel Edozie and James Bree.
“Kamaldeen is back on the grass and been with the group for a couple [of days],” Gill said. “Kamaldeen’s close, but will take some time to get up to full speed. He’s been non-contact for a couple of days, and then there will be a little bit more today, doing some extra work to build that fitness up.
“Sam Edozie is getting closer, the same as Breezy, but not for this weekend. It’s going to take a little bit of time but hopefully we’ll have them back with us soon for when all the games come thick and fast.”
