Mentality and maturity: How Bazunu breaks the mould
“We don’t have a problem with the goalkeeper,” Russell Martin stated, firmly.
Southampton’s new manager was speaking at his first fans’ forum as Saints boss in August. His team had just conceded four goals at home to Norwich, having been relegated with the fewest clean sheets in the Premier League last season.
“For how we want to play, if I was going to look at a goalkeeper, I’d want to go and sign Gavin Bazunu.”
Martin was adamant.
“That was massive,” Bazunu, aware of the manager’s comments at the time, and the question marks surrounding his suitability to be Saints’ starting stopper, reflects.
It was the backing Bazunu needed. It’s also worth noting Martin was just the latest in a long line to share this view, given the Irishman played every minute of Saints’ first 32 Premier League games last term. Ralph Hasenhüttl, Nathan Jones and Rubén Sellés all picked him too.
Only for the final six games was Bazunu dropped to the bench, by Sellés, in which time Saints only picked up one more point, while the goals conceded rose from 1.75 per game to 2.83.
The relegation reset represented a fresh start, and Martin liked what he saw.
“I’ve been made aware of this narrative around Gav,” he said. “Last season’s happened, he can’t impact that. What he can impact is he’ll be one of the best goalkeepers in the division.”
That prediction is ringing true. Bazunu has kept nine clean sheets in his last 21 games, none of which Saints have lost, while his calmness and distribution is paramount to Saints’ possession-heavy approach.
Martin pointed to his goalkeeper’s “mentality” at the forum. From sharing a workplace over the past 18 months, it’s easy to see why the manager picked up on it within weeks.
There is rarely any tangible change in Bazunu’s mood. From last season to this, he remains incredibly level-headed. He’s low maintenance, naturally quiet, and dedicated to his work.
“It’s definitely something that I’ve looked to work on from a very early age, knowing as a young goalkeeper how difficult it can be to come in and play,” he says of his mental state.
“Usually you don’t see goalkeepers coming in and playing until they’re in their early, mid-20s. For me it was as a teenager, so straightaway it was looking for, ‘what things can I do outside of the experience part of playing?’
“It was my mentality. How can I be ready to play? How can I be mature beyond my years, ready to bounce back from difficult games and ready to perform again week in, week out? For me, controlling my emotions is a massive part of that.”
As well as helping him overcome setbacks, this measured mindset makes him the perfect sweeper keeper for Martin’s system.
“It’s all about playing with no fear, with freedom, because as soon as you hesitate or you take that extra second, that’s when you get caught out,” Bazunu explains. “Every now and again it’s going to happen – it’s just one of those things where you have to reset, refocus again.”
“In this team, in every position you’ve got to be so brave with the ball, especially the back four, myself and the defensive midfielders. We take the ball in such awkward and difficult positions, but we do it to give the people ahead of us chances to score, so we’ve got to keep doing what we’re doing.
“It can be a difficult time when results aren’t going well, or when you’re down in a game, or you’re playing against a tough opposition. That can be the hardest moment to stay calm and pick those passes, but that’s when it’s most important.”
It helps that Bazunu is already well-schooled in using his feet, having come through the Manchester City Academy, and has a wealth of experience behind him – his recent appearance at Rotherham was the 150th of his club career, while he already has 21 caps for Republic of Ireland before his 22nd birthday.
These are not normal numbers for a goalkeeper of his age.
“That’s something I’m very proud about, and I’m looking to get to 200 games as quick as possible,” he says.
“As a young goalkeeper, I think it’s so important to get games. It’s how you learn and you grow. I think just having that backing of games behind me is so strong as a young goalkeeper.
“That was the main reason for going out on loan so early, but also just looking to play those games, because it was about building a solid foundation.
“As soon as you hit around 100 games, you’ve seen 80, 90 per cent of what happens. It depends how well you can learn and take those experiences from each game and bring them into the next one. For me, it makes it so much easier playing now with that bank of games behind me.”
The dynamic has changed right across the club since Martin’s arrival, but especially for Bazunu. Saints are facing around 33 per cent less shots than last season, and averaging 50 per cent more possession.
The goalkeeper is just as involved in the game, but in a totally different way.
“It’s something that I’ve experienced before,” he points out. “Playing in youth teams with Manchester City, it was all about concentration, because similarly I would’ve had a lot of the ball at my feet but not had to make a lot of saves. Going on my loans, it was different. I was in teams where I was having to make a lot of saves, so I’ve experienced both.”
He refers to last year as “a very testing time”, having made the step up from League One, where he spent full seasons with Rochdale and Portsmouth, directly to the Premier League.
“It felt like three or four seasons rolled into one with the amount of changes, with the World Cup break – I think it was a season that won’t really happen again,” he reasons.
“It feels like a completely different place. It was a massive thing that the manager brought in when he came, this group mentality that we’re all fighting the same fight and everyone is on each other’s side, everyone has each other’s backs. I think that’s a massive thing that you can see on the pitch, and off the pitch as well.”
It’s easy to forget this is his first taste of the Championship, but Bazunu – despite those early question marks – is coming into his own in a Saints shirt, proving Martin was right to trust his last line of defence all along.
Nowadays, no name is sung louder inside St Mary’s, particularly from the Northam Stand, the end Bazunu tends to occupy in the second half of matches, where Saints have now rejoiced in 11 straight home wins in all competitions, keeping seven clean sheets.
“It’s a special thing to be able to have that connection with the fans,” he smiles. “It’s nice to see that they appreciate how the team’s playing, and myself as well.
“It’s one of those things that you feel so strongly about it that you just want to play well for them every week.”
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