Will Still plans to fight for Saints job as pressure builds after Preston loss

Under-pressure Southampton boss Will Still has warned that turning Saints’ form around is not a “quick fix” after losing 2-0 at home to Preston.

Saints have lost three matches in a row, have only won two games at home since the start of last season and sit just three points above the relegation zone.

Fans made their displeasure over the malaise very clear by calling for owners Sport Republic to “get out of our club” and chanted “sack the board”.

While the majority of the crowd’s anger was aimed at those in the boardroom, Still – who arrived in the summer – is fighting for his job.

He said: “I know where we are in the league and what that looks like from the outside.

“I am not going to give up or feel sorry for myself. I will fight as long as I’m here. I’m not going to stop trying but I don’t think it is an instant fix either – you don’t come into a place like this and click your fingers.

“We don’t have to look further than our four walls. We have bags of talent in that dressing room.

“There is no point looking for excuses or saying ‘this isn’t fair’ or ‘isn’t nice’. We need to grow a pair and get on with it. It is a fragile environment.

“The players are struggling for confidence in games.”

To add to the toxic feeling, Saints defender Nathan Wood was filmed swearing at fans after the final whistle.

Still reacted to that, saying: “I don’t think that is the smartest thing to do. We shouldn’t be doing that. That’s really frustrating [to see].”

Southampton dominated possession but struggled to break a stoic Preston side down – with Leo Scienza forcing a good save and Caspar Jander hitting the woodwork their best moments.

On the other hand, North End took their big chances. Lewis Dobbin bundled over the line in the first half to score in back-to-back matches, before Mads Frokjaer-Jensen completed the victory with a 94th-minute tap in.

It sent Preston back into the play-off places with their first consecutive league wins since the opening two matchweeks.

Paul Heckingbottom – who celebrated gleefully with his fans – hailed the performance as the perfect away outing.

The Lilywhites chief said: “Everything impressed me about our performance. If we could bottle that up and take it with us, as an away performance, we would do that.

“We can be better with the ball but we were terrific. We created good chances and were very good without the ball, particularly in the second half. We thoroughly deserved it.

“We have some team out injured, nine of them – all good players. And one or two who played with knocks today and you would never have thought that. Credit to everyone.

“It would have been nice to have got the second goal earlier in the second half. We had our moments but I just thought we got a lot of things right.

“Southampton have a lot of good players and have a lot of the ball but where we let them have possession was very good. It takes a lot of work and discipline for the players to execute that.

“We have been consistent all season. One thing we have been guaranteeing everyone is a level of performance.”