Zirkzee reacts to ‘heartbroken’ Harwood-Bellis after Southampton exit news
Taylor Hardwood-Bellis has broken his silence after Southampton’s relegation from the Premier League was confirmed in their 3-1 defeat to Tottenham.
A double from Brennan Johnson and a late penalty from on-loan Bayern Munich winger Mathys Tel was enough to claim all three-points and confirm Southampton’s status in the Championship next season.
The result saw the Saints become the first top-flight English team to be relegated with seven games remaining, in record time, which unsurprisingly was followed by news of Ivan Juric’s departure from the club.
The only hope for Southampton now will be to pick up at least two points between now and the end of the season to avoid recording the lowest points tally ever in the Premier League.
Harwood-Bellis thanked the fans after Ivan Juric exit confirmed
In a post via Instagram on Monday (7, April), in the wake of the news, Harwood-Bellis wrote a heartfelt message to the fans, saying: “It’s really hard to put into words how heartbroken and frustrated I am by this season. After the highs of last season, I’m so sorry we didn’t manage to push on and perform like we know we’re capable of.
“I truly believe in this team and I know we’ll be back stronger. You fans deserve it. It felt important to come on here and say a huge thank you to those that stood by us all season. You’ve cheered us on no matter what, and please believe me when I say we’ve heard, seen and felt the support. Thank you, Saints.
“It’s been hard to put into words how disappointing this feels, but we’ve got to focus on finishing the season as a team, together.”
Manchester United forward Joshua Zirkzee reacted to the post by liking it, who can perhaps sympathise with Harwood-Bellis and the idea of not quite fulfilling their potential this term.
Still time for Southampton to avoid lowest Premier League points tally
Football Insider verdict
Southampton need one point to equal the lowest ever Premier League points tally, which is held by Derby County who managed 11 in 2007/8.
Looking ahead to their last seven games, the fixtures which stands out to pick up the points required to avoid the record is Southampton’s trip to the King Power Stadium.
| Southampton’s remaining fixtures | Home or away |
| Aston Villa | Home |
| West Ham | Away |
| Fulham | Home |
| Leicester | Away |
| Man City | Home |
| Everton | Away |
| Arsenal | Home |
Leicester lost for the eighth league game in a row without scoring against Newcastle on Monday evening (7 April), and in the process made them the first Premier League side to ever do so.
In many regards, the Foxes’ have been just as poor as Southampton throughout the course of this season, and had it not been for the points former manager Steve Cooper picked up before his dismissal, Leicester may well have found themselves in a similar situation.
The Saints will not get a better opportunity to avoid this unwanted record when they visit most likely an already relegated Leicester in a few weeks time.