Southampton manager defends Gavin Bazunu after supporters' moan
Southampton manager Russell Martin said Gavin Bazunu did not deserve the flak he took from his side's supporters during Tuesday evening's defeat to Hull in the Championship. The 2-1 loss was Southampton's first at home in five months.
Hull took the lead in the 11th minute after Jaden Philogene's powerful shot was parried into the path of Anass Zaroury and the Moroccan, on loan at the club from Burnley, finished to the net.
The away side doubled their lead 25 minutes later through Fabio Carvalho. Bazunu played a pass from the edge of his six-yard box to Joe Rothwell but the midfielder was dispossessed by Philogene who played Liverpool loanee Carvalho in to score. It was the type of play which drew the ire of of the home supporters.
"There was a lot of moans at Gavin (Bazunu) when he did stuff with the ball but it’s not on him and he was outstanding when he actually had people to pass to," Martin said in his post-match press conference.
"I really understand the frustration around the whole place but the crowd were amazing in the second half and really stuck with us.
"When you’re not brave enough, it looks disjointed and a bit messy. We have faced that [high press] a lot of times. We went man to man against them and they went with it against us.
"The difference was they were completely all-in and we weren’t. We have a setback early and don’t respond to it. We lacked the courage to be the team we needed to be."
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