Skipper speaks out for Adkins

Adam Lallana claims the players must take as much responsibility as boss Nigel Adkins following Southampton's 4-1 defeat at West Ham.

The Saints' skipper has spoken out in defence of his manager after another heavy defeat left the side in the relegation places with just four points from eight games and the leakiest defence in the Premier League with 24 conceded already. Lallana is well aware of reports that Saints chairman Nicola Cortese is already on the lookout for a more experienced top-flight manager to come in and turn around the club's fortunes. Therefore Saturday's defeat at Upton Park against a Hammers side that was promoted with them last season will only increase the speculation that Adkins' days are numbered. But Lallana, who scored the Southampton goal against the Londoners, claims it is unfair to solely blame the manager for their performances. He told the Daily Echo: "We're all under pressure. We're under pressure to get results, so is the manager. "You can't just look in his direction when we get a couple of bad results. "We're the players that are out there, so we've got to take responsibility."