Davis impressed by Stephens breakthrough at Saints

Southampton club captain Steven Davis has heaped praise on Saints defender Jack Stephens who has enjoyed a breakthrough season with the club.

Following an injury to experienced defender Virgil van Dijk, Stephens broke into the first team and has performed well in a successful season for Saints who currently sit ninth in the table.

Midfielder Davis was named club captain by Claude Puel in January and has also led the team on the pitch in the absence of team captain Van Dijk.

And the Northern Ireland man has been impressed with how 23-year-old defender Stephens has settled in.

“Jack’s been excellent since he came into the side,” said Davis.

“It is always difficult to come into a side, especially under difficult circumstances and in place of someone like Virgil who is such an important player for us.

“You’ve seen the quality Jack’s got. He’s going to come up against top-quality forwards in every game and it’s a learning curve for him, but he’s dealing with it really well, is level-headed and has performed consistently.

(PAUL ELLIS/AFP/Getty Images)

“We’ve got a lot of good games coming up so we will be looking to come into those with confidence. We’ve always been confident in the ability that we’ve got.

“We have still got the chance to finish this season strongly and on a positive note, so that is what we are trying to do.”