Saints manager Ronald Koeman has admitted that some of his new signings will take time to adapt to the physical side of the Premier League.
After Graziano Pelle came under attack from a vocal minority of the Saints support on Saturday Ronald Koeman has spoken of how his two signings from the Dutch League will need to adjust to the more physical nature of the Premier League after the Eridivisie where the game is played at a less frantic pace, as well as without the more robust defending seen in the Premier.
"It’s difficult,” said Koeman speaking to the Daily Echo. "I think sometimes he can be a little bit more aggressive maybe, to expect in which position the ball falls down, but he needs players from the midfield and with movements around him.
"That was the reason that we changed at half-time and we bring in Shane Long to have more speed in front. I mean, if there comes a long ball, you have to expect something.
"If you wait and you go then, sometimes you are too late.
"But for Pelle and Tadic it’s a higher level and they need to be stronger to be competitive in the Premier League. They need time for that, because it’s a big change.
"The defenders are stronger and it’s more physical than in Holland. The qualities they have, but they need time to adapt.”
The Dutchman is right for Pelle and Tadic as well as Taider who has yet to see action it is a whole new ball game and not only are tey in a new country but they are stepping up in terms of the competitive nature of the league and standard, supporters have to be patient and give them the chance to adjust and come to terms with that standard.
It's made even more difficult by the fact tat they are not stepping into a team that is settled and playing a formation that they are used to, there is a degree of coming to terms with the new style even for players who have been at St Mary's for a number of years.
Rome wasn't built in a day as they say and Saints fans should remember that initially Mauricio Pochettino was not an overwhelming success, when he arrived at the club his record at the end of the season was no better than his predecessor Nigel Adkins and this time last year the jury was still out on him, especially after his first four games of last season that saw only 2 goals scored and one of them a penalty.
The plus point about Saturday's game was that despite lacking attacking depth, Saints controlled the game well, what we need now are the new signings to start finding their feet, once they have done that then as the rest of the team adjusts to the new manager and his ways there should be no reason why a good season should not ensue.