Koeman impressed with work ethic

Ronald Koeman was impressed with his Southampton players after they refused a day off following Tuesday’s League Cup win over Arsenal.

The Dutchman has made a strong start to his tenure at St Mary’s Stadium, guiding the team to second in the Premier League with 10 points from their five matches so far.

Many felt the south-coast club would struggle this season after a mass exodus of some of their key players, but they have proved their doubters wrong in the early weeks of the campaign.

The 2-1 victory at the Emirates Stadium on was further evidence of Southampton’s impressive form, and Koeman revealed on Thursday that his squad had turned down the offer of taking Wednesday off.

“We planned for Wednesday to be a day off after the Tuesday, but Jose Fonte said to me: ‘Boss, we’d like to come and train tomorrow’,” Koeman said.

“I said: ‘But you have a day off – I’ve planned a lot of things with my wife!’ So we changed it, and we had a recovery session.

“The players showed a great ambition. I’ve never had a squad say no to a day off. That means a lot for me.

“We’ve spoken to each other and said that if they win against Queens Park Rangers [on Saturday] then they’ll get that day off next week, so we hope to win on Saturday.”