Ronald Koeman is risking Southampton mutiny

The Southampton manager’s public criticisms of both Sadio Mane and Victor Wanyama this weekend may turn his team against him

Southampton manager Ronald Koeman is playing a very dangerous game. His public bashing of star players Sadio Mane and Victor Wanyama after today’s defeat at Norwich may not play well in the South Coast dressing room.

In case you missed it, Koeman hit out at both players for different reasons after the match. Mane, was dropped from the starting lineup after being late to a team meeting. Koeman also revealed that he’s been displeased with the player’s attitude in training over the past several days and had already talked to him about his tardiness.

The manager was displeased with Wanyama over his decisions on the pitch. He was sent off in the 74th minute at Norwich after he picked up his second yellow card on a pretty foolish challenge. Koeman was livid that a player of the Nigerian’s experience would be careless enough to put his team in jeopardy over that type of challenge. His fears were proved right when Norwich’s Alex Tettey scored the eventual game winning goal just minutes after Wanyama’s departure.

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Smart managers know how to use the press to their advantage. They can say certain things about certain players in a controlled fashion in an effort to get a desired reaction. I don’t think that’s what Koeman has done here. He’s popped off about two of his most talented players in the aftermath of a very troubling defeat. As much as he complained about Wanyama being reckless with his challenges, Koeman is being quite reckless with his comments to the press.

In this instance, I think it’s much more likely that these comments cause the team to start to turn against their manager. They’re already mired in a tough spell that’s seen them lose six of their last eight Premier League matches. Even before Koeman elected to go public with his player criticism the mood at the club was right for a player mutiny. His rash words may well work like a match igniting the gasoline of discontent Southampton players are feeling at the moment.

Let’s not forget that Mane and Wanyama have been two of the club’s most consistent performers on the season. They both have performed well enough to draw significant transfer interest from other clubs. Wanyama has been a long-rumored target of Tottenham and Arsenal while Mane has caught the eye of Manchester United. Koeman isn’t criticizing players who have been playing poorly. Instead he’s chirped about two of the men playing the best for his struggling side.

I can’t imagine that helping the emotional mindset of the Southampton locker room. Wanyama and Mane have been given all the ammunition they need to undercut Koeman behind closed doors. Their teammates will surely listen if either of them express displeasure regarding their manager. Squad members know who’s playing well and who isn’t. They know Koeman called out two of their players enjoying good form.

That will catch the attention of other Southampton players quite quickly. They will see that Koeman is starting to hit out at players and they won’t want to be his next target. After all, if he is willing to criticize his best players publicly what would stop him from moving on to every player in the squad?

Southampton is headed down a dangerous path and Ronald Koeman didn’t make things any better today. He’s put his job and the club at great risk by choosing to go public with his player criticism. It seems the action of a desperate man.