Southampton debacle leaves promoted trio winless, but all is not lost

LONDON : Southampton might have targeted Monday's short trip along the south coast to Bournemouth as the moment to make their presence felt in the Premier League after last season's promotion.

Instead, they offered about as much resistance as a sand castle against the on-rushing tide on the local beach, conceding three first-half goals in a 3-1 defeat.

It means Southampton have one point from their opening six games - their worst start to a league campaign since 1998.

"A lack of character, lack of fight, lack of aggression, lack of courage" was the scathing verdict of manager Russell Martin to his side's first-half showing.

The club's fans are already strapping themselves in for a long winter relegation battle and many would immediately sign up for a 17th place finish, as they managed in 1998-99.

Of the three teams that came up from the Championship last season, Martin's side are clearly faring the worst so far, but Ipswich Town and Leicester City are also without a win.

Leicester, beaten 4-2 at Arsenal on Saturday, have managed three draws and three defeats while Ipswich, who returned to the top flight for the first time in 22 years after back-to-back promotions, lost to Manchester City and Liverpool but drew their other four games to sit 15th in the standings.

No wins from a combined 18 games does not bode well for the trio and comparisons are already being made with last season when the three promoted clubs - Luton Town, Burnley and Sheffield United - all went straight back down.

It is not the longest wait for a victory though. Twenty years ago it took until the eighth round of fixtures for one of the three newcomers to register a victory, after 22 games.

SOME HEART

It does not get any easier for 19th-placed Southampton as they