Southampton captain James Ward-Prowse has said that “slipping standards” at the club have been the cause of their relegation from the Premier League. The loss was their 24th this season, the most in the club’s history. Ward-Prowse commented that from the first day of pre-season until now, it was clear that standards had dropped. He believes that the club and individuals need to assess if they did everything they could to avoid relegation.
In November, long-serving manager Ralph Hasenhuttl was sacked and his successor Nathan Jones lasted just three months before Ruben Selles was installed until the end of the season. Ward-Prowse believes that as a team and a club, they need to reflect on the season and ask if decisions were right and if they performed to the best of their ability.
The England midfielder is confident that the club will learn lessons to bounce back, but he is not thinking too far ahead about his own future at St Mary’s, with summer interest in his services almost inevitable. He has been at the club since he was eight years old and has seen the ups and downs, but he is sure that with the right people, the club will be back in the Premier League soon.
BBC Sport pundits Martin Keown and Anita Asante worry how difficult it will be for Saints to rebound, with Keown suggesting that they might need a big clear-out and questioning what the core of the Southampton side is. Asante believes that relegation has been a long time coming and not just this season alone, citing two seasons of poor transfer windows.
Sport Republic took over Southampton in January 2022 and issued a statement on behalf of investors Dragan Solak, Rasmus Ankersen and Henrik Kraft after relegation was confirmed. They reassured supporters, partners and staff that they remain committed to achieving long-term success for the club at the top level and announced that they will reveal their immediate next steps at the end of the season. Their goal is to return to the Premier League as soon as possible and ensure that they stay there.
Selles rejected any notion that the damage was done before his reign began and insisted that if somebody is responsible for the last three months, it is him. He believes that one of the things that was lacking during the season was enough togetherness and trust between them. His own future at the club is unclear but he is confident that Southampton have enough quality to bounce back immediately, with or without him.