Charlie Nicholas believes Southampton have ‘things going on behind the scenes’

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The Saints are currently struggling in the lower reaches of the Premier League table and will hope to take three points from Wolves back to St Mary’s this weekend.

Sky Sports pundit Charlie Nicholas has made a bold claim regarding the current state of affairs at Southampton – namely that he feels there are “things going on behind the scenes” at St Mary’s Stadium (Sky Sports News).

Following a bright second half of the season for the Saints under Ralph Hasenhuttl last term, there was much optimism going into the 2019-20 campaign, with established players, academy breakthrough youngsters and exciting new signings all boding well.

Unfortunately, it’s been another difficult start to the season for Southampton as they sit 17th in the standings, level on points with 18th-placed Everton, having lost their last four fixtures in a row.

Admittedly, the Saints have had some hard fixtures early on, including against Liverpool, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea, but there have also been defeats to Burnley and Bournemouth – and according to Nicholas, he feels that something at the club “isn’t quite right”.

Speaking about Southampton’s upcoming trip to Wolverhampton Wanderers, Nicholas wrote on Sky Sports News: “This is a game I quite like, but the problem with Southampton is that there are things going on behind the scenes. There is something that isn’t quite right.

“I think the manager is quite down about it, and things will develop over the coming months, but the more important thing is Ralph Hasenhuttl being motivated, otherwise the team won’t be either. They will be flat and I think they could be in for a hammering. If Wolves smell blood, and they are bouncing at the moment off the back of recent results, then they could win comfortably. They will go about their business and dispatch Southampton with ease.”

This week, Southampton saw their director of football operations Ross Wilson leave St Mary’s to take up a post at Rangers while Hasenhuttl’s former assistant Danny Rohl left the Saints to subsequently take up a post at Bayern Munich.