Ruben Selles refutes Leeds United suggestion and rues 'momentum' changer in Southampton setback

Leeds and Southampton occupied the Premier League’s bottom two places heading into Saturday afternoon’s LS11 showdown but the Saints could have jumped above the Whites with a victory in West Yorkshire.

Instead, Junior Firpo’s second-half strike gave Leeds a 1-0 triumph which took the Whites out of the drop zone and up to 17th place but left Southampton three points cut adrift at the foot of the division and now four points from safety.

Selles, though, insisted that losing to another side battling the drop was not an additional concern and instead expressed his dissatisfaction with a performance that the 39-year-old took the blame for himself.

Asked by Sky Sports if the frustration of the defeat was compounded by the fact that it came to a relegation rival, Selles insisted: "No. We are in a process and we are working hard to continue with the things that we know how to do and we know that a defeat can come.

"The problem is that in a defeat we need to perform better. We can lose 1-0 but giving a different image for us, for the club and we need to proud of what we do.

"I think we were nowhere near of being proud of what we do so need to continue working in the way we have been doing in the last two weeks and add a couple of things to be competitive next time."

Speaking at his post-match press conference, Selles reasoned: "I think during the first half we missed some of the triggers that we were ready to attack and perhaps I didn't explain it that well so it's my own fault.

"We tried to adjust with the 4-2-3-1 at half time I thought we grew into the second half and when we conceded the goal I would say it was a good moment for us in the game, we were controlling the ball and were more in possession. That goal changed the momentum and we never came back."