Southampton’s Yoshida and Stephens praised by club legend

Southampton centre-back pair Maya Yoshida and Jack Stephens have been hailed for the way they have stepped up to the plate in the closing weeks of the season.

Japanese defender Yoshida and Stephens, who signed as a youth player from Plymouth Argyle in 2011, were paired by manager Claude Puel after the departure of Jose Fonte to West Ham United and an injury to Virgil van Dijk.

And club legend and Saints honorary president Terry Paine has lavished praise on the duo for the partnership they have forged in tricky circumstances.

“[Yoshida has] been here for four or five years now and has been very patient, and I think when the chance has come for him to play on a more consistent basis he’s really stood up to the task and has produced some really outstanding performances,” said Paine, who played for Southampton from 1957-1974.

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“I’ve been more than happy with the way he has been going, and with young Jack Stephens alongside him.

“If you’d have said at the start of the season that they were going to be your centre-backs towards the latter part of the season I don’t think you would have believed it, so the pair have done particularly well, but Maya has really impressed me and long may it continue.

“And Jack coming in has been a revelation in some ways. I don’t think anyone could have believed he’d have been in the first-team and playing as he has done.”