Mark Hughes’ shocking streak of failing to win back-to-back Premier League matches was extended to an alarming 52 games on Monday night after Glenn Murray’s last-gasp penalty denied Southampton victory at home to south coast rivals Brighton.
For Hughes this inability to carve out two wins on the spin is nothing new. The last time he recorded consecutive Premier League victories stretches back to January 2017 when his former side Stoke managed to beat Watford and Sunderland. Since then the 54-year-old has only mustered a dozen wins from 52 top-flight fixtures, only three of which have come at Southampton who could well be set for another season of struggle.
The frequency in which the Saints hurl points away from winning positions is a source of immense frustration for supporters, who have watched in despair as their troops have dropped a Premier League high 26 points from leading positions since the start of last season.
But, while the Saints were abysmal under former boss Mauricio Pellegrino, the club’s failure to close out games has overlapped into Hughes’ tenure. Dispite an overall improvement in performances, he too has struggled to find an antidote for these capitulations with his side now dropping 13 points in 13 games under his leadership, more than any other club in the period since the Welshman’s appointment in March.
Southampton’s ineptness to kill teams off on home soil remains a big problem. The two points dropped in the 2-2 draw against Brighton means they have now only won one of their last 14 matches on home soil dating back to November, with April’s 2-1 victory over Bournemouth Hughes’ only triumph at St Mary’s.
He tells @AdamBlackmore about the harsh lesson given to his #SaintsFC players 🔊👇 #SOUBHA
There were, of course, plenty of positives to take from Southampton’s performance against Brighton. The club enjoyed a cracking first half and could have been two or three up at the break, and while they didn’t go on to win the game, they’ve now gone unbeaten in three matches in all competitions. Additionally, new striker Danny Ings continues to impress, having now scored three league goals since joining in the summer - the same amount he netted in three seasons at Liverpool.
Hughes now has his work cut out to lift his troops ahead of a daunting visit up North to a five-wins-out-of-five Liverpool outfit on Saturday. Hughes is currently 6/1 for the chop but a hammering at the hands of the Reds could propel him to the top of the Premier League Sack Race. Saints then face a tricky trip to Wolves, before Chelsea come to St Mary’s. If they are unable to add to their tally of five points in that trio of matches then the club could use October's international break to make yet another managerial change.
