Van Dijk frustrated with Sunderland point

By SFC Media time Sat 27 Aug Club

Virgil van Dijk felt that Southampton should have done better than taking one point from the game against Sunderland.

The Dutch defender lamented the result and performance from the home side as they clawed back a point from a losing position following Jermain Defoe’s 79th minute penalty.

Substitute Jay Rodriguez rescued the draw with a fierce low strike, and despite peppering Sunderland’s goal for the final few minutes of the game, Claude Puel’s men had to settle for one point.

“It's not good enough,” Van Dijk told youtube.com/southamptonfc.

“I think as a team we can't be happy with a draw against Sunderland at home, with all due respect. 

“It's better than to lose, obviously, but we can't be happy with the performance and the result, and we need to do much better, but everything's a bit new, so we need to adapt as well, but that's no excuse.”

Saints are winless from their opening three Premier League matches, and now have a fortnight until their next league game against Arsenal, which the defender says is a long time to think about this result.

“I'm disappointed and I think that's the worst feeling to go into the international break,” he said. “It wasn't good enough.”

Puel’s side continued to enjoy long spells of possession in the game, but although they struggled for consistency, Van Dijk feels the team is getting closer to its best.

“The manager wants us to play a different style of football and it takes a bit of time and we need to adapt on everything,” he said.

“It's not easy. We had an amazing season last year, and we need to try to reach that level again. Obviously, it's going to be hard with all the changes, but we need to adapt soon.”


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