Nathan Jones has made a bizarre defence of his position as Southampton manager by suggesting his past life choices show he can overcome the challenge at St Mary’s Stadium.
Jones is under pressure at Saints after earning only one Premier League win from seven games since taking charge of the team, and they currently sit at the bottom of the table.
Reflecting on his playing career, Jones suggested his decision to eschew an easy life in Wales and broaden his horizons shows he is fit to save Southampton from trouble.
“I think every situation is unique,” he said. “But look, I went to Luton, I was homesick when I went to Luton when I was a player. The manager David Pleat left, my next move was then to go to Spain [joining Liga 2 club Badajoz].
“I enjoy a challenge, I want to be the best version of me. I could have stayed in a mining community, been a PE teacher and had a nice life, married a nice Welsh girl, beautiful. But I didn’t. I want to test myself on every level. And that’s nothing against Welsh women.”
Jones, who was appointed by the struggling south-coast club in November, did take full responsibility for the relegation-threatened club’s dire performances in the Premier League, days after he said he had not put his stamp on the team and pandered to his players.
After Saints lost 3-0 at Brentford last weekend, Jones said in a post-match interview that he had compromised on his style of management due to fan pressure, which did little to improve his popularity among the Southampton faithful.
“I have made decisions here and I live and die by those decisions. I accept responsibility for every single thing I’ve always done as a manager,” Jones said ahead of Saturday’s home game against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
“I can assure everyone we work hard and do good work on the training ground. The only thing is I can’t back that up with results.
“I just want results to turn and then you’ll see that good work we’re doing. I genuinely think I can turn things around, but we need results quickly.”
After the Brentford defeat, Jones had claimed he was “statistically” one of Europe’s best managers when he was at Luton Town but that he may have got carried away while dealing with Premier League players.
“I like to give certain people autonomy. I am not a dictator, I am open,” Jones said on Thursday while explaining his methods.
“We ask for the players’ opinion and then have a debrief based on that. It’s a good process and one I’ve always done. I’ve improved players in the past with that process.”
Additional reporting by Reuters
