‘If It’s Like That’ – Former Southampton Star Issues Selection Warning | OneFootball

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Jo Tessem is of the view that Southampton‘s Joshua Quarshie, Ronnie Edwards and Nathan Wood performed well against Liverpool and stressed that they must be in contention to start the game against Middlesbrough at the weekend.

Southampton have had a poor start to the season in the Championship which has seen Will Still’s side secure only one win in the league out of six games.

Former Championship star Sam Parkin recently pointed out the centre-back pairing, Jack Stephens and Taylor Harwood-Bellis, have not been able to rise up to the challenges of Championship yet.

Still changed his defence for the game against Liverpool, playing with a back three, putting Wood, Quarshie and Edwards in the backline and Tessem was impressed with what he saw.

The ex-Southampton star admitted that the defence was to blame for Hugo Ekitike’s 85th-minute strike, which won Liverpool the game, but believes that overall the back three showed enthusiasm and played brilliantly.

Tessem also feels that no one in the squad should think that their position in the starting line-up is secured, indicating towards Harwood-Bellis and Stephens, and thinks that Wood, Quarshie and Edwards will be in contention for a place in the defence for the Saturday game against Middlesbrough.

When asked whether Still should change Harwood-Bellis and Stephens in defence for Saturday’s game, Tessem said on BBC Radio Solent (8:10): “If you are in competitive football, you are competing for places and the Championship is high-level football and if you come in and take your chance and prove that you deserved to play, especially after bad performances and some bad results….

“You are putting yourself in trouble; you cannot just walk in and think you will play in the next game.

“If it is like that, we will be a really poor team.

“So I think Will Still has done previously that when players have had bad performances, he has taken them off and if you look at how we defended against Hull, he has all the right to make changes.

“I am not going to pick on names here, but he now has kind of a good problem because three of them performed really well today.

“Three young players came in and played brilliant football today [Tuesday].

“They were enthusiastic, and yes, they made a mistake on the last goal in my eyes, but overall, it was a very good performance from those three and that puts them into the limelight for the selection on Saturday.”

Southampton brought in Quarshie from German side Hoffenheim this summer and he provided the assist for Shea Charles’ goal against the Reds in the EFL Cup.

Edwards, 22, joined Southampton from Peterborough United last summer, but he spent time on loan at QPR last term.