Southampton v Crystal Palace: Fonte focusing on big picture

Three defeats from their last five Premier League games has prompted Jose Fonte to urge his Southampton team-mates to remain united.

Jose Fonte has called on Southampton to stick together and trust each other ahead of hosting Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Tuesday. 

Ronald Koeman’s side have seen their hopes of securing a European place dented in recent weeks with three defeats in their past five league games, the latest a 1-0 setback at West Brom on Saturday.

Southampton slipped to sixth at the weekend, but club captain Fonte took a step back to assess the club’s season as a whole to underline how far they have come and what can still be achieved before Tuesday’s “massive” game.

“As a club, we need to stick together because we’ve done fantastically until now and there are still 11 games to go. We all need to keep fighting,” he told the club’s official YouTube channel.

“We need to look at the bigger picture. We’re still in a good position, and there’s a lot to play for.

“We know where we want to be as a club, as a team and as a group of players, so Tuesday’s game is massive.”

Fonte added: “We have to trust each other and keep working hard on the training ground so that things turn around.”

That turnaround could be aided by the return of striker Jay Rodriguez, who Koeman expects to be back from a long-term knee injury this month, although Tuesday’s match will likely come too soon. Toby Alderweireld could come back in after a month out with a hamstring problem.

After going a goal down after two minutes on Saturday, the Dutchman opted for a change in shape by replacing Florin Gardos with Eljero Elia, and may continue with that system after it sparked a marked improvement.

Palace, meanwhile, climbed the table to 12th following an important 3-1 win at West Ham on Saturday that lifted them eight points clear of the relegation zone.

It was the club’s fifth success in as many away matches in all competitions since former Southampton manager Alan Pardew took charge, with that sequence including a 3-2 FA Cup triumph at St Mary’s Stadium in January.

But Palace will be without Glenn Murray as they plot a repeat performance after the striker was shown a red card to go with his two goals in Saturday’s victory.

It was a result that Pardew feels marked a big step towards Premier League safety.

“The away win was so important, it gives us a platform that if we win at least three of our home games we can stay in the division, and you can’t really ask for any more than that at this stage in your second season in the Premier League,” he told a media conference after Saturday’s match.

“We have got ourselves in a great position and now we have to see it home.”

Pardew could also be without midfielder Jordon Mutch, who had to be withdrawn after just 33 minutes of action at Upton Park, while Yaya Sanogo and Marouane Chamakh joined Fraizer Campbell on the sidelines on Saturday.