Puel calling for Saints focus in fragile Premier League

Claude Puel believes there is a certain fragility when it comes to the Premier League table, and the manager is calling on his Southampton side not to crack heading into the closing stages of the season.

Saints have spent the majority of the campaign flirting with the top half, sat ninth with 40 points from their 30 games heading into the Easter weekend.

That’s largely thanks to four wins in their last six, though victory over Manchester City would give them three successive wins for the first time this season.

But in order to get the better of the Citizens in Saturday’s tea-time clash, Puel knows his side must maintain their focus, looking to build on the football that has become a staple part of the St Mary’s diet.

(Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)

“It’s always difficult, it’s fragile. You can see for example when we played AFC Bournemouth we were in the same part of the table three games ago,” he said.

“Now we are ninth and they are 16th. It’s important to keep a good focus in every game and we start against Manchester City.

“It’s important to keep this with good football, while being strong in defence and quality with the ball. We will see if we can go up against this team.

“They’re a great but we have to play against a lot of great teams at the end of the season.”