Horseman: Players must take responsibility
Dave Horseman called on Southampton’s youngsters to take responsibility after a painful late defeat at Middlesbrough in Premier League 2.
Saints’ B Team trailed from the 29th minute despite being the better side, particularly in the first half, and eventually drew level through Kazeem Olaigbe’s 86th-minute penalty.
But the visitors were undone soon after the restart when Dare Olufunwa was shown a straight red card for bringing down Joe Gibson in the box, paving the way for Josh Coburn to win the game from the spot.
“I think it’s more difficult for the staff than the players, because, if I’m being honest, I stand in front of this camera every week and almost say the same thing,” Horseman said.
“We do so many good things, and I’m talking about as a team here, not necessarily individuals, and then we actually throw the game away.
“We dominate for huge periods of the game, we create good chances but don’t take them. They have two or three meaningful shots in the game, and one’s a penalty.
“For the staff, the game plan worked – we got into good areas, we caused them loads of problems, but in the critical moments, when people are paid the most money to deliver, we’re not delivering as a team.
“We’ve got loads of good players, there were loads of excellent bits today, but I think they need to look at themselves a little bit now, because they’re in the men’s environment and they need to stand up and take some responsibility.
“It has to be better – you can’t play that well and come away without anything.”
