Charlie Austin Is Right To Thank His Team Mates Monday, 25th Jan 2016 10:29 Charlie Austin is certainly a character as he showed in his post match interviews, however he was right to praise his team mates. As was pointed out on Match Of The Day 2, Charlie Austin was perhaps the first player in the shows history to say how good it was for him personally to score the goal rather than the usual cliches trotted out, however that didn't mean that his appreciation of his new team mates was any less. In other segments he was quick to give his thanks to his team mates who had battled for 80 minutes to make sure the stage was set for his entrance and that he came on with the chance to score the winner rather than a consolation. This probably highlights how Saints are moulding into a tight unit again now that Ronald Koeman has most of his squad long term injury free, even the loss of perhaps the most influential player of January so far Steven Davis was not enough to throw Saints out of their stride. Back before the start of the season I said that the departures in the summer allowed Ronald Koeman to beef up his squad and although some still think that Saints should not be signing players that would not be immediate first choice, the reality is that in the modern day game a squad has to have depth and although the likes of Manchester City or Chelsea can afford to have a squad of 25 all of whom would probably get into most Premier League first teams, for the majority of the division's teams that situation is far from reality. But Koeman has quietly put together a squad that has not only quality but depth, as was shown by the performances on Saturday at Old Trafford, perhaps some like Jordy Clasie for reasons of injury and adjustment to the Premier League have been slow to make a big impact, but Clasie for example put in a display that had some media outlets and fans making him their man of the match despite only playing 67 minutes. When he departed he was replaced by Romeu who again made sure the quality of the play did not drop in standard and that we were ready and able to take our chance to win the game when it arrived. It is easy to look to the so called stars of the team to win us games, but Saturday's win and indeed the two previous against Watford and West Brom have been less about the likes of Wanyama, Pelle, Bertrand, Fonte & Mane and more about Clasie, Romeu, Long, Ward Prowse & Targett, not to forget Steven Davis who was absent at Old Trafford. The fact that the so called lesser lights in the squad are providing the foundations for the teams upsurge in results can only be good for the future. Of course all sides need the big performers and Charlie Austin is certainly in that bracket, all squads need balance and as Lawrie McMenemy once famously said, all teams need violinists and hod carriers in them, you cant have a team made up of just one, although in fairness some like the Wimbledon of old were more hod carrier than orchestra member. But now Saints fans can rest assured that the squad is going in the right direction, of course it still needs the odd tweak, but unlike this time last year when an injury crisis would mean having to use untried youngsters, now the depth is there and it is Internationals that are coming off the bench to do the job the likes of Cuco Martina are there to play bit parts not 30 games a season and as our win over Arsenal on Boxing Day showed that bit part can be quite substancial, not to mention early in the season when Martina had to play with Ryan Bertrand out injured and Virgil Van Dyke yet to sign. So Charlie Austin recognises that good wins are build on good foundations and whilst a game like the victory on Saturday is won in a 30 second segment, it can't be won without 89 1/2 minutes of hardwork both before and after. Photo: Action Images Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
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