Southampton are "running out of time" in their bid to avoid relegation from the Premier League, so says Ruben Selles.
Saints sit bottom of the table, four points from safety, ahead of a meeting with league leaders Arsenal at Emirates Stadium on Friday.
Selles took over from Nathan Jones earlier in 2023 and, after initially managing an upturn in fortunes, has now seen his side go winless in their last six games.
"It has been desperate from the very first second," Selles told reporters. "The only thing is we are running out of time and the games are less and less.
"We had some good performances but we didn't transform those into points and hopefully we can change and then start to get some points together with some good performances.
"If we play our game and put in the performance that we need, we have options to win the game.
"We have a good team in front [of us] but almost every week we have good teams in front."
Arsenal threw away a two-goal lead against West Ham last time out, drawing 2-2, with Manchester City now just four points behind the Gunners with a game in hand.
Bukayo Saka missed a penalty just before West Ham's equaliser, but Mikel Arteta believes the England international can turn that into a positive situation.
Arteta said: "That's the way he is and he loves responsibility, but he puts a lot on his shoulders.
"If he had any doubt about how much people love, respect and admire him at the club, he had a very warm reaction from everybody. In the end it could be something very positive, everyone acted in an unbelievable way towards him because he deserves it.
"I'll make sure he takes the next one."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Arsenal – Gabriel Jesus
Gabriel Jesus has scored nine Premier League goals this season – with Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Martinelli and Saka already each scoring 10+, this could be just the second season to see four players reach double figures for the Gunners in the competition, after 2012-13 (Santi Cazorla, Olivier Giroud, Lukas Podolski and Theo Walcott).
Southampton – James Ward-Prowse
Ward-Prowse has scored nine goals in all competitions for Southampton this season and could reach double figures for the second time in his career following his 11 last term. Six of his nine goals this season have come away from home, with four of those strikes coming in London.
MATCH PREDICTION: ARSENAL WIN
Arsenal have never lost in 23 Premier League home games against Southampton (W16 D7), the most one side has hosted another without ever losing in the competition.
The Gunners are also unbeaten in their last 27 home league games against Southampton (W19 D8) – in their league history, only against Fulham (current run of 30) have they had a longer unbeaten home run.
The side bottom of the table has won just four of their 38 Premier League meetings with the league leaders (D6 L28), losing 14 of their 15 such games away from home (D1).
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Arsenal – 67.3 per cent
Southampton – 12 per cent
Draw – 20.7 per cent
Leicester City seal automatic Premier League return
Leicester City are once more a Premier League team, having bounced straight back after relegation last season.
The Foxes secured automatic promotion without kicking a ball, as title rivals Leeds United lost 4-0 away to Queens Park Rangers on Friday.
Marti Cifuentes' Hoops side gave their fans a reason to cheer in their final home game of the season, and the emphatic win means they are now seven points clear of the relegation zone.
The Hoops boss told BBC Sport: "I came here, perhaps I was crazy thinking we could manage the great escape.
"The atmosphere has been unbelievable since I came here. Everybody thought tonight could be a special night to achieve our target.
"Big players deliver big performances and our players all did that tonight."
Defeat ensured only Ipswich Town can now finish above Leicester, meaning the Foxes will be back in the big time.
Ipswich, who have three games left to play, face play-off hopefuls Hull City on Saturday.
Speaking to BBC Sport, Leeds boss Daniel Farke said: "It's not in our hands any more [automatic promotion], we need to be honest.
"The race is not over. If Ipswich win the next two games then I will say congratulations, but if they don’t win them then we will have a lot to play for.
"As long as we have a chance, I’m far away from giving up."
Leicester could be crowned champions if they beat Preston North End on Monday and if Hull beat Ipswich.
The Foxes are looking to break the 100-point barrier, despite a wobble from Enzo Maresca's side in recent months.
After they had been so far ahead and top for all but two of the 176 days between 23 September and 17 March, an untimely dip in form handed Leeds and Ipswich hope.
However, while Leicester celebrate their promotion, they face the daunting prospect of starting next season with a points deduction, after they were charged by the Premier League with alleged breaches of the competition's Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR).
Nashville SC v San Jose Earthquakes: ‘A win would change everything’ - Godoy
Anibal Godoy insists that Nashville are already looking at their game against San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday as a must-win.
Nashville have won just once in the MLS this season and sit in 14th place in the Eastern Conference after a run of four without a win.
The Earthquakes, meanwhile, are bottom of the Western Conference having lost eight of their matches and recording just one win.
Godoy is aware of how their poor start to the season could affect their playoff hopes later down the line but is confident that Nashville can turn things around.
He said: “For us, it's an important week. It's a day we have to win, or we'll start to feel the pressure from other teams as they start to separate in the table.
“This league is long but if we want to get to the playoff you have to win games early on, especially at home.”
Liverpool agree compensation deal for Slot
Liverpool and Feyenoord have reached an agreement in principle over a compensation deal for Arne Slot to become the Reds’ manager next season, according to widespread Dutch media reports.
The Dutchman is reportedly poised to take over from Jurgen Klopp, who announced in January that he would be leaving the club at the end of the campaign.
Slot led Feyenoord to their second Eredivisie title last season after taking over the club in 2021.
It is believed that he topped the list of Liverpool’s favoured candidates due to his attacking playing style and ability to develop players.
Former Liverpool midfielder, Xabi Alonso, who led Bayer Leverkusen to their first Bundesliga title, and Sporting CP’s Ruben Amorim were also reported contenders to take over from Klopp.
Slot had already confirmed his interest in managing in the Premier League, both earlier this week and previously when he was linked to Tottenham in 2023.
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