Southampton replacements impress Ward-Prowse

Southampton midfielder James Ward-Prowse is impressed by the calibre of players brought in to replace a glut of departing St Mary’s stars.

Adam Lallana, Rickie Lambert, Luke Shaw, Calum Chambers and Dejan Lovren have all sealed transfers away from the club after former boss Mauricio Pochettino took the Tottenham job.

The Argentinian’s replacement, Ronald Koeman, has gone about the rebuilding task with the likes of Dusan Tadic, Graziano Pelle, Shane Long and Fraser Forster moving to the south coast.

And England Under-21 man Ward-Prowse believes the future is bright at the club, and expects the new arrivals to hit the ground running when Southampton open their Premier League campaign at Liverpool – likely against Lambert and Lovren – on Saturday.

“It’s disappointing to see them go because they played such a massive part in what we did last year,” he is quoted by The Daily Echo.

“But it’s football and people come and go and we’ve had a number of new signings who have come in, done terrifically well and will fill those shoes comfortably.

“Football is always changing. There is always people coming and going and as long as we just focus on ourselves as a team and making sure we improve then all the off-field issues won’t matter.

“We are all feeling good. It’s nice to get pre-season out of the way, it’s a gruelling time for us with six weeks of hard work all put towards the first day of the season.

“The first game of the season can’t come quick enough for us and we’re looking forward to it.

“Anfield is a good place that we went to last year [Southampton won 1-0] and it was a day that will probably stick out in our memories for the rest of our careers, winning there and playing so well.

“It’s a place we go to with happy memories and hopefully we can replicate that again.”