Armstrong feeling pre-season progress
Adam Armstrong felt Southampton’s 4-2 victory at Reading was a significant step forward in the team’s progress ahead of the new season.
After a 2-0 defeat to Portuguese champions Benfica and a 1-1 draw with Göztepe in Turkey, Saints picked up a first win of pre-season with a dominant display against the Royals, recently relegated from the Championship.
Armstrong was among four different scorers for Saints, who dominated possession throughout and merited a more one-sided margin of victory on the balance of play.
“We’ve been working a lot in pre-season on how to cut through teams,” Armstrong explained.
“There are always going to be positives and negatives in the game – it’s pre-season, that’s always going to happen – but I thought we were excellent, and it’s a result we needed.
“I think if you look at tonight’s performance from the one in Turkey, I think we were much better. The way he (the manager) wants us to play, on and off the ball, I think we’ve been very good.
“The gaffer’s come in, him and his staff have been excellent, the lads are all buzzing and hopefully we’re going to keep on putting in performances because it’s exciting to play. We all want to keep the ball and have a lot of the ball, and it’s exciting to watch, hopefully.
“It’s been brilliant. The lads are enjoying it. That’s how you want to play – you want to be on the ball all the time, you don’t want to be chasing, but the Championship is a long season, we’re going to come across some tough teams.
“We’re trying every day to get better. Me and the lads are putting a shift in every day to become the best we can and try and get back to the Premier League. That’s the main aim, and the lads are raring to go.”
