Southampton lost 0-5 to Tottenham Hotspur in the 16th round of the hotly contested Premier League. After the match, Southampton player Harwood Bayliss gave a candid review of the game in front of the cameras and had expectations for the future of his team.
Facing the press, Harwood Bellis spoke bluntly about how tough the game was: "This game was hell for us. It's hard enough to talk about it right after it's over. We made mistakes from the start, which put us in a quagmire, and the score quickly became 0-1," he continued, analyzing that the early mistakes brought about turmoil within the team, which in turn affected the direction of the entire game: "It's inevitable that at a time like this, there's going to be some volatility within the team. We were passive from the start and that put us under pressure."
Harwood Bayliss exuded disappointment at the poor first half performance, "We were three or four goals down at the end of the first half and obviously we weren't at the level we should have been. We've been at that level before but this time we didn't win and it pretty much epitomized our season."
Facing the booing of the fans, Harwood Bayliss expressed his understanding: "They want to see the team win, so it's normal to react like this. The boos should be directed at the players, not the coach. The coach didn't make those mistakes, we made them on the field. Nevertheless, they supported us after the first half. I can't express my gratitude to them for sticking with us until the end."
Speaking about the substitution of Suleymana, Harwood Bellis explained, "It's true that he wasn't too happy because he was eager to play. But it wasn't a personal decision against him, but because we were 0-3 down at the time and had to make some adjustments. Unfortunately, he had to be substituted, but it wasn't for personal reasons."
Finally, Harwood Bellis emphasized where the team needs to improve and expressed his strong belief that "We have to do better, that's just the way it is. We have players in the team who are willing to give their lives for the team. From the dressing room's point of view, we have what it takes to survive relegation. We won't stop believing in ourselves and have to fight for ourselves. We have pride and a desire to outperform everyone. We will never give up, it's not an option."
