Daily Star: Adam Lallana is loving life with the Saints

[Saint-Armstrong]

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/football/334317/Southampton-s-Adam-Lallana-is-loving-life-with-the-Saints?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

 

 

If it is early-season good news you are after, look no further than the South Coast Club.

 

They provided England’s newest hero Rickie Lambert, who marked his Three Lions debut with a fairytale Wembley winner against Scotland.

 

A few days later they kicked off their Premier League campaign with a dramatic 1-0 win at West Brom thanks to man-of-the moment Lambert’s last minute penalty.

 

To cap it all off their start to the season they then smashed their transfer record for the second time this summer to make £15m Italian striker Dani Osvaldo their third big buy.

 

The hope is that the West Brom victory will be the first step on Saints’ way to a top-ten finish after they retained their Premier League status last season.

 

And eventually ambitious manager-chairman double act Mauricio Pochettino – labelled “world class” by Lallana - and Nicola Cortese want to steer Southampton into Europe.

 

The current feel-good factor around St Mary’s and such lofty ambitions are all a far cry from the dark days just a few years ago when Southampton were on the brink of going bust - until late owner Markus Liebherr stepped in to save the club from oblivion.

 

Captain Lallana, one of three surviving players from that pivotal summer of 2009, said: “I remember getting a phone call being told we weren’t going to get paid.

 

“This was in the summer after we had been relegated to League One and we had minus 10 points.

 

“Because I was quite young I was probably quite naïve and not worried too much about not getting paid.

 

“Kelvin Davis was here, a father of two at the time and probably had a mortgage and it must have been worrying times for someone like that.

 

"To think how far the club have come in three, four years since Nicola Cortese and Markus Liebherr came in, I would never have believed we would have had even half the success we have had and players coming in for the amount of money they are if somebody had said it to me back then.

 

“It just proves how far the club has come and how ambitious Nicola and the club are. Ever since we got promoted from League One it’s just been on the up really. Time has flown.

 

“Has there been a better time to be at Southampton? Not at all. It’s an exciting place to be at the moment, Southampton.”

 

Nothing shows off Southampton’s ambition more than their summer spending.

 

Osvaldo’s arrival from Roma took it to £36m – the third highest in the league so far this window - after the captures of £12.5m Victor Wanyama from Celtic and £8.5m Dejan Lovren from Lyon.

 

Speaking at the launch of PUMAFootballClub.com, Lallana, who will lead Southampton out against Sunderland today, said: “They are three quality players.

 

“Dejan Lovren played at the weekend with Victor Wanyama and they were both exceptional, played massive parts in the 1-0 win and it’s exciting the new signing, Osvaldo.

 

“I’ve heard great stuff about him and it will be great competition alongside obviously Rickie, Jay Rodriguez, myself.

 

“The manager likes to have options and there is nothing better than to have freshness in and about the team.”

 

And with Pochettino and Cortese at the helm, Lallana sees no reason why Saints won’t keep marching onwards and upwards.

 

He said: “Most aspects of Mauricio, not just as a manager but as a person, the way he man-manages his players, are world class.

 

“He makes you feel good about yourself, he demands hard work which is a given really at this level.

 

“He’s adapted well to the Premier League too, it is not easy coming in not speaking English.

 

“He’s had a lot of time for us and I think it shows in how well we have performed for him on the pitch and work hard there is a special relationship between him and the players.

 

“The chairman is a good guy, a good businessman, he said he had a five year plan to get to the Premier League and he has done it in three years.

 

“People question why he got rid of the managers the way he did but every decision he has made is the right one.

 

“He is backing the club, we have spent £36m this summer, last year we spent money as well, he’s put his faith in Mauricio as well. I think that it is a really good partnership.”

 

Attacking midfielder Lallana, 25, is loving life at Southampton so much he can already see himself finishing his career at the club he has been at since he was 12.

 

And they seem a perfect fit. Like Southampton, Lallana has had overcome adversity to flourish in the top flight.

 

As a youngster he suffered from ulcerative colitis, the same bowel disease that has left Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher’s career hanging in the balance.

 

“It’s a very nasty condition to have and my thoughts are with Darren,” Lallana said. “I speak to (Southampton team-mate) Danny Fox about that as he has played with Darren for Scotland.”

 

“Has there been a better time to be at Southampton? Not at all. It’s an exciting place to be”

 

An irregular heartbeat picked up when he was 18 and that kept him out for “three or four months” also hampered Lallana’s development.

 

Both conditions meant Lallana had to wait patiently for his Premier League chance while former youth team pals such as Theo Walcott and Gareth Bale were in the top-flight by their teens.

 

He said: “I think the likes of Gareth Bale, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Theo Walcott, are players that have the X-factor.

 

“They are different, they are young, had pace and that’s probably why they moved on and got that chance whereas I’ve had to bide my time, develop, got better with the coaching.

 

“Not saying I wouldn’t have wanted it that way. I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. And to still be at the club now and captain, it’s special.

 

“I feel like I’ve grown with the club from League One days to Championship now to playing week in week out in the Premier League.

 

“Southampton is a special club for me and I can’t see myself going anywhere else.”

 

The only other shirt Lallana wants to pull on is an England one.

 

He came close last year when his eye-catching start to the season earned him a call up to Roy Hodgson’s squad for the World Cup qualifier against Ukraine.

 

He was left on the bench for the Wembley clash but Lambert’s selection has given him renewed hope of a recall.

 

Lallana said: “He had a massive grin when he came back in. So did everyone else. No one really said much (at first).

 

“Then obviously we were asking questions: Rooney this, Gerrard that. Lampard this. He was the same, he couldn’t wait to answer them.

 

“It was like a Q&A session for about 20 minutes, then it was like ‘lads, I have got to eat my breakfast, we’re going to training’.

 

“Rickie’s call up just gives people like me and every other English player in the team confidence and belief that if you are playing well and scoring goals then you will get considered for the national team.

 

“When I got called up we had two or three games in the Premier League and it was a massive shock but it was great fun.

 

“I like to just concentrate on my club football as Rickie has been doing and it proves if you do that you will get rewarded.

 

“I’d like to stay injury-free and just keep improving under the manager this season. It is an exciting time to be working under him.”

[Saint-Beer]

Top man. Technically as good if not better than Walcott and Ox, but doesn't have that lighting pace. If he can knock a few goals then he will be in a good place.