Schneiderlin excited to return to St Mary’s with Manchester United
Morgan Schneiderlin is excited to return to his former stomping grounds when Manchester United travel to St Mary’s to face Southampton on Sunday.
Schneiderlin spent seven years with the Saints and was a crucial part of their ascendancy into Premier League relevance before moving to Manchester United. Following seasons finishing in 8th and 7th in the 2013/14 and 2014/15 seasons, respectively, Southampton are now struggling at the start of this season, sitting in the lower half of the table at 11th.
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Part of that are down to the Frenchman’s departure though they’ve also lost other stars in a second consecutive transfer window of offloading with Nathaniel Clyne joining Liverpool. Still, Schneiderlin’s influence cannot be underestimated.
And when questioned on how his former club has started this season’s campaign, the midfielder responded with:
"“There aren’t as many challenges as there were last season. They bought so many players and for them to gel takes a bit of time. They didn’t have the best start to the season – not as good as last year – but they are a good team. They wanted to progress in Europe, they couldn’t do it, but maybe that’s a good thing for them to just focus on the league. We already know that it’s going to be a tough game. They have very, very good players. We need to be at 100 per cent to win the game.”"
In many ways, Southampton are experiencing similar struggles to those of United, though the Red Devils have been able to pick up far more points. Both clubs have had an influx of players into the club and the team chemistry has been a work in progress. Additionally, with both clubs having competed in Europe, the additional competition may have impacted their Premier League form.
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But despite the Red Devils higher position in the league it will not be easy and Schneiderlin offered a ‘scouting report’ of his former club:
"“Southampton have never been one player, they have been a team. There are so many good players. Jose Fonte has been the captain and main figure in this team. In the midfield there is a very strong presence with Victor Wanyama and Steven Davis. Steven is a very, very good player and Wanyama is strong. There is Dusan Tadic and Sadio Mane, who had a very good season last year. Jay Rodriguez came back from injury and if he’s strong like he was before his injury then he’ll be a real threat. I’m sure he’ll come back to his best. There are so many good players in this team, so we need to watch out. It’s a team that will work very hard.”"
Last season, Louis van Gaal’s side and Southampton split the series with both teams winning at the away grounds. Louis van Gaal’s side won 2-1 at the Saints but then fell 1-0 at home after hitting good form late on in the season.
However, this time Schneirderlin is at United and the 25 year old will be looking to make an impact as a starter. With van Gaal’s history of starting players returning to face their former team, the no. 28 will likely get the start. Asked if it could be a distraction going to play his old team, Schneiderlin added:
"“It could be but I’ve never had this before. We’ll see but I think I’ve got a strong enough mentality to deal with this situation. I have some very good friends there and a good relationship with everyone. I left the club on good terms so there will be no issue in that way. Of course I will fight for Manchester United because this is my club now. I will give my best for it.”"
United will need Schneiderlin at his best if they want to leave St Mary’s with the three points to keep pace with league leaders and rivals Manchester City who fell to a shock defeat at home to West Ham.