Adkins sticking to Saints´ plan

Nigel Adkins insists Southampton will not abandon their principles despite just one Premier League victory so far this season.

Saints sit narrowly outside the relegation zone on four points and have conceded 20 goals in just seven fixtures this campaign.

However, the 47-year-old Saints manager has underlined his commitment to blooding young players and playing attractive football – no matter the short-term cost.

“We want to promote the Southampton way,” Adkins told the official club website.

“We want to bring 50 percent of the youth players through the system and to have a certain brand that people can associate with Southampton Football Club of good football – but it’s got to be winning football as well.

“We want to have a certain brand of football, but maybe it’s going to take a bit of time to do that and to get it perfectly.

“It’s a fine line, because if we want to stay in the Barclays Premier League then we’ve got to win games of football – but we can’t sacrifice the principles and the vision we’ve got here.”

After a tricky start which took in fixtures against Manchester City, Manchester United and Arsenal, the former Scunthorpe boss believes his charges can turn a corner after the international break.

“The international break has been a good opportunity to have a week to reflect and look back on what we’ve done,” Adkins continued.

“We can reconfirm what we want to do in the future and make sure we’re on track with that now.

“There was a planned opportunity for us to reflect on what we’ve done, who we’ve played, how we’ve played, the players we’ve picked up, the goals we’ve scored, the goals we’ve conceded and whether we’re keeping ourselves focused on what we want to achieve.

“You’re always learning – it’s important that you do that.”