Saints sink deeper into trouble

Man City 2 Southampton 1

Harry Redknapp will be getting his ladders out and preparing to clamber through the transfer window as a matter of extreme urgency as relegation-haunted Southampton slumped to yet another sorry defeat.

A late Kevin Phillips penalty might have given the final scoreline a closeness that could breed optimism but Redknapp, who is still searching for his first win since taking charge at St Mary’s, will know his team were badly out-played for long periods.

In fact, Kevin Keegan will wonder just why his team were forced to cling on for much of the second period after they have dominated the opening half and gone into the interval with a two-goal cushion thanks to Paul Bosvelt and Shaun Wright-Phillips.

Keegan has already admitted that with no finance available he will be bargain- hunting at the end of the month as he tries to establish City as a top half force.

On this evidence though, Redknapp will require all his legendary wheeling and dealing skills to preserve Saints’ long-held top-flight status, with club captain James Beattie the sacrificial lamb.

Beattie was again omitted from the visitors’ squad and with Everton and Aston Villa ready to seal a £6million deal, his departure should be confirmed within 72 hours at the latest.

While the loss of such a major influence at the south coast club will be mourned, it cannot come quick enough for Redknapp, who needs to instigate a major rebuilding exercise.

Only goalkeeper Antti Niemi emerged with any real credit for a game which saw the Saints slip another point away from the safety zone and if the Finn had not produced a string of excellent first half saves, Redknapp’s team would have been on the end of an embarrassing loss.

For City fans at least, it was a more uplifting experience than anything seen at their plush new Eastlands home since Chelsea were sent packing in mid-October.

The hosts benefited from Southampton’s admirable willingness to engage in a football contest, something West Brom notably failed to do four days ago.

Unfortunately for Redknapp and his team, while the Baggies’ limited tactics managed to crush City’s attacking spirit all Southampton did was encourage the Blues to play.

It was exactly the kind of game Wright-Phillips needed to find his form again after a month of below-par performances and even the torrential rain that turned the pitch into a virtual ice-rink played into his hands.

The England man’s goal was an outstanding piece of individualism.

First, the little winger picked up possession 45 yards out when Richard Dunne chested down Niemi’s long punt forward.

Then, he twisted his way past David Prutton, ambled forward a bit, side-stepped Matt Oakley before unleashing a thunderbolt strike that rocketed in off a post.

In truth, it should not have been Wright-Phillips’ first goal of the contest.

Three times the little winger found himself in decent shooting positions, all of them markedly better than the one he actually scored from, but on two occasions Niemi saved, while the other went marginally wide.

Record signing Nicolas Anelka also managed a notable failure, mis-hitting his shot completely after one of Robbie Fowler’s impressive regular through balls had set him free.

At that stage, it seemed the City fans were in for another nervous afternoon watching their team protect the slender lead Bosvelt had given them after 18 minutes.

As he assesses exactly how he intends to rebuild a side that has managed just two wins all season, and picked up only two points on their travels, Redknapp will be demanding vast improvement from a defence that not only allowed Dunne to rise unchallenged to nod Fowler’s far post corner into the six-yard box, but also left Bosvelt completely free to turn the ball home.

After a promising start, Southampton’s attacking threat had faded completely.

Aside from one rare raid which saw David James rush from his goal to prevent Neil McCann skipping clean through, the Saints were a muted force and it took the half-time introduction of Peter Crouch and Fabrice Fernandes to bring them back to life.

The tactic was simple enough, Fernandes hugged the left touchline and continually lofted high crosses into the City box where the lanky Crouch was able to generate a sense of panic.

It worked too and if the goal Phillips netted just before the hour mark had been allowed to stand, Southampton might have salvaged an unlikely point.

As it was, the returning Saints’ skipper had his close range effort ruled out for offside and though he eventually found the target with a last-minute penalty, it was too late to prevent another disappointing reverse.