Can Saints respond to Foxes savaging?

Southampton will reappear on Tuesday night for the first time since their 9-0 mauling at home to Leicester City, so how can they bounce back? Nobody could have predicted that the Foxes would create history by putting nine past Saints at a rainswept St Mary’s when the teams took to the field last week.
Even Ryan Bertrand’s 12-minute red card with the score at 1-0 offered no clues as to the debacle that was set to follow, but the fallout at the south-coast club has been severe.
Pressure is mounting on manager Ralph Hasenhuttl, who has taken full responsibility for the thrashing, and there have been suggestions the Southampton hierarchy will take action if things do not improve.
The last thing they would want is back-to-back games with the defending Premier League champions as the men in red and white travel to the Etihad Stadium to face Manchester City in the Carabao Cup fourth round on Tuesday evening before returning to the same venue on Sunday in the league.
 
City chief Pep Guardiola has stated he does not think Southampton are as bad as their last result suggests but what can the Saints boss do to motivate his charges?
It is one thing to say ‘draw a line’ under the result and look to move on but there is no way the humiliation is ever going to leave the minds of those who were involved.
There will doubtless be changes made to Saints’ line-up for the EFL Cup encounter although a few of those who played in the embarrassing loss will be on the City pitch.
The fact that a huge loss happens so infrequently in top-class football suggests there is unlikely to be a repeat this week although Hasenhuttl’s men will be hard pressed to get a positive result in either match.
The visitors must just adopt the stance that they are not as bad as one standout result and try to remember the feeling of when they only lost by the odd goal to Liverpool – arguably Europe’s top team at the moment.
It has been a poor campaign to date for Saints, with just two wins, but the season is played over 38 games and the Leicester hammering will not matter if they manage to stave off the threat of relegation next May.
Nobody will forget it – as it is now a part of Premier League history – but a strong work ethic during the next two tough fixtures will at least show the long-suffering fans and the manager that they deserve to wear the shirt.