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Stern says Southampton has fighting chance - 02/26/08 |
Striker Stern John, coming off a
series of goals for Southampton despite their poor run of results is
anticipating better things to come for the remainder of this season. John's
Southampton had to settle for a 1-1 draw with Scunthorpe on the weekend and
are in 19th spot, three places off the relegation zone.
Gregory Vignal's controversial
late penalty saw Southampton deny rock-bottom Scunthorpe victory.
The Iron had Matt Sparrow sent off for foul play but were handed a penalty when Ian Pearce fouled Martin Paterson. Kelvin Davis saved Andy Crosby's kick but Crosby buried the rebound to give Scunthorpe the lead. But Saints leveled when the referee awarded a penalty for an off-the-ball incident involving Bradley Wright-Phillips and Vignal hit home. John played all 90 minutes. "It's been a tough run but I think we have what it takes to win the relegation battle. I'm not worried about us getting anywhere close to that position," John said. "I think personally I've been in good touch last few games. The goals have been coming but it's disappointing that the results have not been going our way. I think as a team we need to dig deeper and stick it out to the end if intend to be getting victories. I think the fans are a bit disappointed and we owe it to them to step up and get points both in our home and away games," John added. John also represented Trinidad and Tobago in a recent 0-0 draw to Guadeloupe in what was a disappointing result and performance for many who witnessed the game. "We just didn't get anything right in that game. We have some new faces and it will take a lot of hard work and preparation to get the team playing to its full potential. Hopefully we will sort things out and the new coach will get what he wants out of the team. We have our first World Cup qualifier in June and then the semi-final round around August so we have to work really hard now to ensure that we are ready for those bigger games," John said.
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