Saints cancel Le Tissier talks

Le Tissier, who was critical of Southampton executive chairman Cortese's decision to sack manager Nigel Adkins and replace him with former Espanyol boss Mauricio Pochettino, had called for a meeting with Cortese.

Le Tissier later revealed talks had been scheduled for four weeks' time, but Southampton have on Wednesday said that those discussions are now off.

"A meeting was organised between Nicola Cortese, the club's executive chairman, and Matthew Le Tissier in what the club believed was good faith," a club spokesman said.

"Both parties had agreed that it would be a private meeting with no publicity surrounding it, yet within 24 hours this matter was put in the public domain and further negative comments attributed to Mr Le Tissier have appeared this morning.

"As an ex-player, Mr Le Tissier's achievements are well known.

"However, his repeated criticisms over a prolonged period of time are not justified and have not merited any res ponse from the club. Nor has the motive for these personal attacks ever been made entirely clear.

"Mr Cortese wishes to reiterate that he will not make comment about somebody he does not know personally - and that includes Mr Le Tissier.

"These criticisms have not affected the club's success and progress on or off the pitch in recent years and will not divert the club from its course in the future.

"For Mr Le Tissier to agree to meet 'in good faith' and then make such comments can only be seen as a breach of good faith and certainly not in the best interests of the club.

"Mr Le Tissier also refers to his friend Francis Benali having the best interests of the club at heart, while neglecting to mention that the same person is currently suing Southampton Football Club in relation to a lease dispute and lost ambassadorial fees.

"It is a legal action the club will be defending rigorously in the best interests of the club and its reputation.

"In all the circumstances and in light of the comments attributed to Mr Le Tissier, the club believes that it is now not possible for the above mentioned meeting to take place in good faith.

"We would nevertheless encourage Mr Le Tissier to join with our fans and continue to enjoy the success the club has achieved over the last three and a half years.

"The club now considers this matter closed and will not be making any further comment about it."

Le Tissier said on Wednesday afternoon that the meeting's cancellation "doesn't surprise" him and wrote on Twitter: "Meeting with our wonderful exec chairman been cancelled surprisesurprise somethingtohidenicola."

Benali was unavailable for comment.

Cortese played an integral role in the now-deceased Markus Liebherr's takeover of the debt-ridden south coast club three years ago - a time in which Le Tissier was part of a rival bid by Pinnacle Group.

In October the Saints legend described C ortese as "not a very nice human being", with the Italian later claiming they had never met.

Southampton goalkeeper Artur Boruc keen to justify Poland recall

The 33-year-old was kicked out of the national team by previous Poland head coach Franciszek Smuda for his behaviour on the plane back from a US tour.

And his career at Southampton began in controversy when the keeper was alleged to have thrown a water bottle into the crowd on his home debut against Tottenham at St Mary's.

But ahead of Poland's friendly against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin on Wednesday, Boruc claims he has 'grown up' and has high hopes for the future as Saints No.1.

"I've matured over the last few months," he told Polish news organisation Sport. "I was determined to get back in Southampton's goal.

"I lost my place. The Tottenham game ruined my plans but that was only a one-off incident.

"I hope I've earned my call-up. I've been told I have a clean slate from the new coach.

"I've grow up and matured. I always wanted to play in the Premier League, though I hoped to make it here earlier.

"Goa lkeepers are usually better with age so there is still some time ahead of me."

Rickie Lambert upset at being overlooked for England squad again

Lambert has adjusted to Premier League football superbly after spending most of his career in the lower leagues and his 11 goals make him the joint-leading English scorer in the division with Arsenal's Theo Walcott.

The 30-year-old revealed he has not been contacted by any of the England staff despite his form, which continued with a goal at Wigan on Saturday, and he said: "I was disappointed (not to be in the squad).

"I'm not saying I was expecting it but I was hoping, and it wasn't to be. But hopefully I can show until the end of the season that I am good enough, not just that I deserve a chance but that I am good enough.

"If it comes, it comes and if it doesn't, it doesn't. I'm just going to try to help Southampton, try to score goals and push Southampton up the league table.

"I'm not going to focus on the England squad too much but I am hoping I can get a chance.

"I don't think my age is a hindrance. I've just got to try to prov e to them that I'm good enough. I've got quite a lot of games left to do that."

Late equaliser frustrates Lambert

Captain Gary Caldwell had given the hosts a first-half lead at the DW Stadium but Lambert equalised in the 64th minute and it looked like being a deserved three points for Southampton when Morgan Schneiderlin put them ahead five minutes from time.

However, Wigan roused themselves for one final effort and secured a 2-2 draw when Maloney popped up in the 90th minute to prod the ball home from a corner.

The result left Saints manager Mauricio Pochettino still looking for his first win after three games despite his side being in the ascendancy for large parts of all of them.

Lambert said: "I'm frustrated about conceding in the last minute, it was a very bad goal to give away.

"Obviously when the dust settles and you have time to think about it then we're going to think of it being a good point, but right now it doesn't feel like that, it's a bitter pill to swallow. We should have had three points.

"I thought the performance was brillian t. Throughout the 90 minutes we pressed them, we harried them and we put them under a lot of pressure, and they're a really good football team.

"Last time we played them we got taught a lesson but I thought this time around we showed them how much we've improved and we deserved the three points.

"I thought we deserved a point at Old Trafford and three points here so it's not nice, but when we sit and think about it we'll take positives out of the performances.

"We've been good of late at not conceding many goals. The last two games we've conceded two and these were poor goals, both of them. We need to get back on the training pitch and do better next week."

Saints had a shaky start to life in the Premier League and lost 2-0 at home to Wigan in August. They won only one of their first 11 games and November's clash with QPR was billed as a key match in the relegation battle.

Saints won 3-1 that day and have lost only two matches since. Nigel Adkins was harshly sacked on the back of a draw with Chelsea but the momentum has continued under Pochettino.

Had the visitors picked up three points they would have been six clear of the relegation zone, but a point still leaves them three points ahead of Wigan and Aston Villa.

The Latics again find themselves scrapping to avoid relegation having won only one of their last 12 games and were far from their fluent best on Saturday.

Manager Roberto Martinez wants both players and fans to leave the anxiety at home for their remaining games, but believes they can be encouraged by the manner in which they fought back.

He said: "I think we allowed Southampton's pressure to be very effective. I don't think we were quick enough with our short passing and we couldn't get away from that first line of pressure that Southampton had. All of a sudden they were a real threat.

"In any sport, when you go into a game where there's huge expectation it becomes a lot harder. That was quite evident.

"I've never seen our crowd as frustrated and as worried as they were. We all need to learn that we've got six games left at home, every single game is an opportunity to get points and we need to enjoy the challenge and be as good as we can be.

"The character we showed to get back on level terms is exactly what we need in this final third of the season."

Jonathan Forte returns to first club Sheffield United in loan deal

Sheffield-born Forte has been out of favour at Southampton this season and will return to his first club where he will join fellow new-boys Danny Higginbotham and Jamie Murphy, who signed earlier in the month.

Boss Danny Wilson told the club's website: "People will be familiar with Jonathan's talents and we are delighted that he has accepted our offer to come and play.

"His goalscoring record is very good and hopefully he can improve that back in Sheffield with us - he is undoubtedly a player with great potential."

The 26-year-old came through the Blades Academy and made his debut in an FA Cup tie in 2004. He played 39 times for the first team before moving to Scunthorpe where he really made his name.

He followed boss Nigel Adkins to Southampton in January 2011 and in a frustrating two-years he was farmed out on loan to Notts County, Preston North End and Crawley Town.

Sheffield United have also completed the signing of Scotland int ernational midfielder Barry Robson on a deal until the end of the season.

The 34-year-old was a free agent after his contract with the Vancouver Whitecaps was cancelled earlier this month by mutual consent.

Robson has played 17 times for Scotland and started his career with Inverness before moving on to Dundee United, Celtic and Middlesbrough.

Wilson said: "When someone of his experience and quality comes along you have to sit up and take notice and I'm delighted a deal can be completed, especially given the fact that he has been back in the country less than a week.

"He gives us options in offensive positions, he will score goals and be a supply line for others."

Reeves makes Roots Hall move

The 21-year-old will remain at Roots Hall until the end of February and could make his debut in the weekend's clash with Oxford.

The midfielder has made six appearances for the Saints this season and scored in the Capital One Cup victory over Stevenage in August.

His last appearance came as a late substitute in the 1-1 draw with Norwich in November.

Shrimpers boss Paul Sturrock told the club's official website: "We're delighted to have signed Ben. He's someone we identified as a player we feel can help us push for promotion.

"He has played in the Premier League this season so it just shows how highly the young lad is rated. He will offer us something different.

"He's here initially for 28 days and we will see how things progress during that time."

Wigan drew 2-2 with Southampton at the DW Stadium

A Gary Caldwell header gave the home side a first half lead against the run of play, but the Saints deservedly equalised when Rickie Lambert headed home from close range.

Southampton dominated for the majority of the match, and they took a deserved lead five minutes from time after Morgan Schneiderlin swept home following a fine run from Jay Rodriguez. However, it was heartbreak for the Saints as Shaun Maloney finished after a Paul Scharner knockdown from a corner.

Wigan chose to hand a debut to Scharner upon his return from Hamburg, whilst Adam Lallana was not deemed fit enough to start after his return from injury in midweek off the bench. Luke Shaw returned to the side in place of Danny Fox.

This was Southampton's first ever trip to Wigan, and they started off the brighter of the two sides, immediately getting onto the front foot and looking to control possession in midfield. However, they could not find the final ball to create a clea r-cut chance, and Artur Boruc was the goalkeeper forced into the first save, diving down low to keep out a Franco Di Santo shot.

Three minutes later, Southampton striker Lambert's shot found Gaston Ramirez in acres of space and onside. The Uruguayan could have taken a touch but chose to volley, and the ball flew well over.

Wigan took the lead against the run of play on 25 minutes when Jean Beausejour's corner was met by captain Caldwell, who guided a fine header into the bottom left corner.

Southampton almost responded in bizarre fashion, a James McCarthy clearance rebounding off Schneiderlin and forcing Ali Al-Habsi into a sprawling stop to claw the ball behind, while Jos Hooiveld headed just wide from a corner.

Southampton began the second half as they did the first and, in a spell of ten minutes, Hooiveld was just unable to get a firm enough header and Jay Rodriguez missed his kick in front of goal.

On 64 minutes, Southampton got what they deserved. A cross from the right-hand side came to the back post, and Lambert was brave enough to put in a header despite the close presence from Al-Habsi.

If that goal should have woken up Wigan, it simply spurred on Southampton, and five minutes later substitute Lallana struck a post following a corner, and Lambert then volleyed just wide as Wigan desperately tried to weather the storm. The away side finally took a deserved lead with a wonderful team move as the impressive Shaw sent Rodriguez down the left and the forward pulled the ball back for Schneiderlin to sweep home.

But, with two minutes remaining, Saints' hearts were broken. Wigan won a late corner and Scharner knocked the ball down to Maloney, who finished from a tight angle.