Portsmouth draw forces Will Still to make honest assessment of his Southampton ranks
Southampton manager Will Still has had more to say on his team’s start to the season in the aftermath of last Sunday’s draw at home to Pompey
Will Still has defended Southampton’s start to the new Championship season by stating: ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day’.
The Saints boss, who saw his side held to a goalless draw by fierce-rivals Pompey at St Mary’s last Sunday, admitted things aren’t clicking just yet with the new-look squad he assembled following his appointment in May.
And while that might be a cause for frustration among fans, who have seen their side pick up six points from their first five games, he remains calm and confident in his side’s direction of travel.
Southampton held to draw by Pompey
Drawing against a Pompey side that was in League One two seasons ago and who can’t splash the cash as readily as a club that was operating at Premier League level just last term, has irritated Southampton fans in the aftermath of last weekend’s south-coast derby.
Still has also displayed signs of frustration, with his reaction to his post-match handshake with John Mousinho a good example.
That draw left Southampton 15th in the table - two points adrift of Pompey, who are ninth, and six off the top two, which is currently occupied by Stoke and current league leaders Middlesbrough.
Despite just two league wins in 2025, Southampton - who finished bottom of the Premier League table last season with 12 points - have aspirations to be in those promotion places come the end of the Championship campaign.
And while the early signs suggest Still has his work cut out, he’s confident his players can overcome a tricky start to the season that wasn’t helped by that draw against Pompey.
Will Still: ‘It’s not quite clicking’
Speaking ahead of Saturday’s trip to Hull, Still - who spent noth of £50m on new players in the summer - said: ‘We know that we didn't hit the levels (against Pompey) that we had to hit. We're well aware of that.
‘But Rome wasn't built in a day, and Rome wasn't built on sliding grounds or a load of rubble, which is what last season has done here.
‘We're picking people back up. We're building things. It looks a bit messy at times, and everything's not right, but I think we're all aware of that.
‘There's a sense of calm and clarity as to where we want to go and where we want to be, but that takes time. That's the story at the start of the season.
‘We've got all the stats that look really good. We've got a load of possession and we've got a load of xG, or whatever they call it.
‘It's been frustrating in that we probably should have scored two or three more goals. We've conceded a few penalties and a few dodgy goals.
‘It's on the edge of what way it goes. We need to make sure that it leans in our favour and do everything that we can to get those 50-50 moments.
‘There's only one way of doing that. You create your own luck, you create your own fortune, and we need to do that. We need to keep working on it.
‘It does feel like we're not quite there yet, and it's not quite clicking. I think we can see that, and there's no point hiding behind it or finding excuses.
‘We've talked about it, we've said a few things, and as a whole, we've had a meeting this week about who we actually are, where we're actually at.
‘We know there's a level of expectation, but we can't just think that we're going to steamroll the league and it'll be easy because we've done it before.’
For your next Pompey read: 'Littered with...' - Portsmouth boss John Mousinho's honest verdict on Sheffield Wednesday ahead of Fratton Park head-to-head