Tony Cascarino criticises Southampton trio and says survival hopes rest on Danny Ings

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Tony Cascarino says Danny Ings represents Southampton’s best chance of Premier League survival this season, in the Times.

He also criticised team-mates Ryan Bertrand, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Nathan Redmond for not doing more to help Ings in the relegation fight.

Cascarino said: “Southampton’s survival depends on Danny Ings. If he can stay fit and can put together a goalscoring run of form then they might not be relegated. But at the moment they look lost. When I watch them I think they have so many players with more to give.

“Ryan Bertrand, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and look at Nathan Redmond — praised by Pep Guardiola seasons ago, but now I’m not sure what he offers his team. Their home record is awful, conceding 24 goals — the most in the league — and picking up two wins, that is always a factor in the relegation battle. The pressure is on Ings to save them.”

TBR’s View – Hasenhuttl hasn’t pushed Southampton on as expected

Hasenhuttl looked to have returned to the principles that made Southampton a model club in the early part of the decade last season.

This term, he was expected to kick on with a bright, pacy side but has ended up with a team centred around one goalscorer – Ings – who is dragging them through on their own.

That wasn’t the plan and shows that Southampton’s issues are harder to remove than it appeared last season.