Ivan Juric patient with fringe Southampton ace despite error-prone performance | OneFootball

Rarely used Southampton defender Armel Bella-Kotchap ended his prolonged Premier League absence. Despite not enjoying a remarkable outing, Juric came forward to acknowledge his efforts.

As a Southampton fan, it's getting hard to keep track of all the humiliating Premier League defeats. Read carefully as I'm not talking about losses that just seem to gradually escalate after almost every weekend.

Instead, the growing concern is ending on the suffering end of massive scorelines. To rub more salt in the wounds, Southampton can't avail of Jan Bednarek's services in the coming games as well.

Hence, there are hardly any compensating positives to take away from this game apart from Aaron Ramsdale's cameo. Yet, the Saints must try to find some more being in a desperate Premier League position.

Ivan Juric patient with fringe Southampton ace despite error-prone performance

Watching Bednarek limping off in agony, many home fans would have been left stunned already. Following that with Armel Bella-Kotchap entering the field, the St. Mary's faithful appeared taken by surprise.

Though many Saints wanted to see Bella-Kotchap in action, replacing the lineup's best centre-back in a crucial match felt like a clumsy call. Still, Ivan Juric shouldn't be blamed given the acute shortage of defensive alternatives at his disposal.

So did Bella-Kotchap stand up to the latter's expectations? In all honesty, the 23-year-old made a handful of mistakes but his overall display was enough to at least please Juric.

As quoted by the Daily Echo, Juric said: "I think that he did some good things and he did some bad things, which is normal for a player who doesn't play for such a long time."

Observing clearly, Bednarek's injury might be a blessing in disguise for Bella-Kotchap. Often sidelined from the senior team, the versatile star must now showcase his full potential to establish a case for himself as a reliable mainstay.

Will, Bella-Kotchap eventually succeed under Juric's management remains to be seen.