Southampton defender Mason Holgate has opened up on his start to life at Saints, saying it has been ‘disappointing’.
The £69k-a-week star joined on a season-long loan from Everton in the summer window, to add more depth at centre-back with Jan Bednarek and Taylor Harwood-Bellis.
However, Holgate started poorly with some bad performances against the likes of Middlesbrough and Sunderland, which resulted in him being out of the team for a few weeks.
In this time though, Saints have gone on an eight-game unbeaten run in the league, which has pushed Saints all the way up to fourth place in the Championship table.
Saints loanee opens up on his tough spell so far
In an interview with the Daily Echo, Holgate opened up on his ‘disappointing’ start to life on the south coast.
“It was disappointing. I have such high expectations for myself. I didn’t have a full pre-season, which isn’t an excuse, but I was a yard or two off it.
“I am only going to get better from being around the boys and training every day. In each performance, I have got better.
“More so as a defender, you need a run of games to be judged off. It’s hard to come in and have the odd game.
“All I can do is keep pushing,” Holgate added.
“Hopefully, when I get my chances I can stay in the team. That’s what the whole team need to do, not just myself.
“The team only get better when players come in and make the manager ask questions. That’s what a good squad is about. That is what we need to be over the course of the season.”
Holgate starting to get better
Whilst he has had a tough start, Holgate has started to show his quality in recent weeks.
But he has started to make a few appearances and play well in them too. He played the full 90 minutes in the 2-1 win over West Bromwich Albion on Saturday, with manager Russell Martin praising his ‘brilliant performance’.
It is now time for Holgate to use this and kick on and become a key member of the Saints squad.