Southamptons lagkapten Michael ”Pillo” Svensson har ett särskilt meddelande inför dagens bortamatch mot Preston. Han skriver på klubbens hemsida – läs hela texten på engelska här nedan – att supportrarnas stöd är oerhört viktigt just nu då klubben är inne i en kris. Laget ligger trea från slutet i Premiership.
Noteras kan att Michael inte spelar i dagens match. Han är fortfarande skadad.
Meddelandet som är hämtat från Southamptons hemsida saintsfc.co.uk/home/ följer här:
Firstly I would like to thank all Saints fans for their fantastic support this season and for all of the kind messages that I have received from many of you over the course of my rehabilitation from injury.
Whilst I have not been able to play as many games so far this season as I had hoped, the role of club captain is one that I am extremely proud of, and I am very keen to do as much as I can to help the club out in any way that I can.
This is a crucial season for Southampton and we need all of your support as much as ever if we are to all achieve the success that we know our young team is capable of.
The changes that took place over the summer, both on and off the pitch, were essential to ensure the future survival of the club and the financial situation that we find ourselves in is extremely serious.
I speak for all the players when I say that, whilst we have been made fully aware of the seriousness of our financial plight, we are all 100 percent focused on playing football and, more importantly, on winning games.
It's vital that we remain professional at all times and we are all extremely proud to pull on the red and white shirt each time we play – whoever is in the starting eleven. We all take our responsibilities as Southampton players very seriously and as a team we are entirely committed to achieving success.
We have a young team this season and much of this campaign so far has been a big learning experience for many of our squad. We have made a huge amount of progress since Jan Poortvliet's arrival in the summer and we will continue to improve, but fans also need to be aware that we will need a bit of time and patience.
We have played some good football in many games this season, but this has not always been enough to bring us the three points. We know we can do it though, and we have been working very hard to find the right mix in the team.
It is going to be a hard season, and there are still a lot of games to play. When you play two or three times a week, you don't have a lot of time to think about what has happened, but it's time to work even harder and I'm confident that we will soon get back to winning ways.
Of course, we all want to win every game and I can promise you all that we will do everything we can to do this – with your support. This is where having the full support all of our fantastic fans can also be a huge factor in our success. With you all on board as the 12th man, we can achieve things that we never thought possible.
Just look at what teams like Stoke and Hull achieved last season, getting promoted when no-one thought it was possible before the season started.
I also speak from personal experience with all my recent injury problems. I've had a tough few years and could have given up, but after working really hard I managed to get back in the team.
You have all been really supportive to me and it definitely played a big role in spurring me on in my recovery and giving me that vital extra lift. I hope everyone will now carry that on and continue to be equally supportive to the team as a whole.
Football is a fantastic sport because it brings people together and everyone has an opinion on how the game should be played. This is one of football's greatest strengths, but negativity can have an effect on an individual's performance in any line of work, and this is especially true for younger players who should be encouraged to play without fear.
The senior players at the club all have taken responsibility for supporting our younger team mates and helping them to make the most of their footballing talents. So long as the supporters continue to give the whole team their positive support I know that they will all continue to flourish.
Relegation was the lowest point of my Saints career and those memories only serve to spur me on to do everything in my power to get this great club back to the Premier League. I cannot do it alone though. Football is a team game and we will all need to work together as a unified club to give us the success that we all want to achieve.
The start of the campaign has been a little up and down, but consistency will come with experience and there is still a long way to go. As players, we have definitely not ruled out promotion and we know that we can be contenders in the Championship, but it's all down to hard work and we need the support of the fans now more than ever.
All of us, the players, staff and, most importantly, the fans now need to stand up and be counted and with your full support behind us, we will not let you down. |
