When our former Chairman left the club just over two years ago the Daily Mail spent an inordinate amount of time trying to suggest the club would be in meltdown, now it seems they are up to their old tricks again.

Then Daily Mail journalist Neil Ashton was the preferred media source for ex Saints Chairman Nicola Cortese, when the Swiss Italian Banker left Saints it was Ashton who led the outcry in the media and went beyond the call of duty in what became an embarrassingly obvious case of bias against Southampton Football Club once Cortese had left.

Now Ashton is at The Sun and there are those who would say that is a match made in heaven with the Sun being a byword for sensationalist headlines that often have little substance by football fans over the years since the Hillsborough disaster of 1989.

But the Daily Mail seem to still have a gripe against Saints judging by an article by Joe Bernstein who is claiming that several players at St Mary's are upset by Ronald Koeman's managerial style.

He claims that Dusan Tadic is pondering his future at St Mary's because of this and is upset after being substituted at half time against Liverpool after being asked to play out of position on the right instead of his customary left.

Bernstein also goes on to suggest that both James Ward Prowse and Sadio Mane as well as others feel their confidence is being dented by Koeman's abrupt style of management with it being suggested his status as a World class player leads to a more direct manner in issuing his instructions.

Perhaps this article would have some credence if it wasn't for several reasons.

Firstly football managers are not nursemaids, dressing rooms are not kinder gardens, name me a top class football manager who at some time hasn't had to be abrasive with his squad ?

Indeed look at the most successful mangers of all time and they had a reputation for being tough when it is needed, Sir Alex Ferguson was famous for his hair dryer treatment of players as it became known.

Secondly the players named are very much the three who would be named by 99% of Saints supporters as those who have underachieved this season, all have the talent to shine at the highest level, but all three have yet to produce their form on a consistent level, some would say the talent is there, but the attitude is not.

Yes of course footbll players need their managers to have faith with them, but those who truly succeed at the highest level have a confidence that is within them and isn't knocked back every time a manager isn't nice to them.

If this article has substance then it tells us a lot why this trio are not regarded as first choice at present in the squad and it will tell those club's interested in sgning them a lot, if Sadio Mane for instance has his confidence dented by Ronald Koeman and does not have the mental toughness to play through that, then he is not going to survive in the environment at Old Trafford.

I don't think there are many Saints supporters who will feel any sympathy for Tadic or any other player who feels that Koeman is a bit too direct, Dusan Tadic is popular amongst Saints fans, they have seen some great games from him, but they also know the number of great games is not consistent enough.

Bernstein describes Tadic as a player who had "A dazzling debut season" and intimates his form this season is down to Koeman's treatment of him, Saints fans would say different and tell a story of how Tadic was very good in the first half of last season, but after Christmas struggled due to a number of reasons.

So overall this article tells us very little, apart from the fact that there are still those within the Daily Mail who harbour grudges against Saints for whatever reason, after all a footballer feeling his manager isn't being nice to him is not the rarest of occurences at a football club, if the Daily Mail was to run a story every time that was the case, then they would need a seperate Sunday supplement to document all the cases in the Premier league let alone the Championship and below.

So a nothing story from the mail from a journalist who judging by the comments you get by googling his name is trying to make a name for himself by trying to sensationalise every small story he gets his hands on.

Saints will march on and Koeman will stand on his record of taking Saints to their highest ever Premier League finish last season and this season if he ends with the team in the top ten will have played a big part in taking the team to three consecutive top ten finishes in the top flight, an achievment only managed on one previous occasion by the club in its 131 year history.

Photo: Action Images

halftimeorange added 10:17 - Apr 3 The Mail writes tripe on most of its pages but if it wants to seriously deal with a manager/player issue it should rightfully concentrate on the Klopp/Benteke situation where the player genuinely has a case for being aggrieved and openly humiliated.
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ericofarabia added 12:13 - Apr 3 Can we change our Nickname from The Saints to The Bishops .... so that the headline would be DM up to it's Bishop Bashing antics again ;-)
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perazi added 12:16 - Apr 3 NIck your comment about all three "underachieving" and having the ability to shine at the highest level is a bit of a stretch. You can't liken JWP and Sadio Mane in that way. One (JWP) has pretty much chugged along at the same level in his four seasons at Saints - only his much hyped dead ball ability; being English, young and a poster boy for the Academy is keeping him in the frame. Sadio Mane is a brilliant Footballer who will continue to improve at both International and Club level. The two goals he scored against Liverpool were a reminder of this. Tadic has been a disappointment since a bright start; he seems to be prone to a good whinge too.

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legod7 added 12:18 - Apr 3 I thought all the newspapers were anti-Saints not just the Daily Fail.
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Consigliere added 12:26 - Apr 3 If you want to read an informed, well-written and properly thought out peice of reportage about the Saints in the national press then there is really only one source - Consortium11 who blogs on the Guardian website. His articles are usually twice the length of the paid journalist's report and immeasurably better constructed. As for the Daily Hate Mail, as I've said before on this site, its a gutter rag and always was a gutter rag. Best ignore it.

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Consigliere added 17:20 - Apr 3 Re: Leicester game today I refer Hon Members to my previous reference to Consortium11, whose notes on the game put the official match report into the shade (you have to spool a long way down to find it - about page 4 of the comments)
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SaintPaulVW added 18:38 - Apr 3 Totally agree Consigliere - Consortium11 is the first thing I read after each game. How he writes so much so quickly, it's amazing.
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Big_T added 18:49 - Apr 3 I can't believe I have just read that sadio Mané is a brilliant footballer! Really, a player that plays for 10mins a game if we are lucky, today he was never going to score when Pellé played him through, you could see it in his eyes. Yes he has tallent, but he lacks the drive that makes brilliant players. He will always do something special when he wants not week in week out when the team need him.

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SonicBoom added 09:50 - Apr 4 Perazi - Mane is not a brilliant footballer. He's a decent footballer who can on occassion produce something special. Brilliant footballers are consistent. I would say his weakness is mental. He obviously has talent but he suffers from wayward finishing and goes for long periods without contributing much. Really top players contribute far more even when not at their best. Personally I would rather see him perform as a 7/10 every week rather than a 9/10 once every 8 games.

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