Will Still should be worried as Southampton duo rated poorly by Irish media for shock Armenia defeat

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Southampton have made a solid start to the 2025/26 second tier season, but two of their top talents faltered on international duty.

Southampton sit 13th in the Championship table under new head coach Will Still following the opening four league clashes of the season.

Following an extremely busy summer transfer window, the Saints have assembled a squad with the credentials to earn promotion back to the Premier League.

With league action resuming this weekend, Southampton face Portsmouth in an eagerly anticipated South Coast derby, which will be the first for both Still and Pompey boss John Mousinho.

The Saints boss will have one million things on his mind leading up to derby day, but unfortunately for Still, one of those will be the poor form of two of his top talents on international break.

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Finn Azaz and Ryan Manning perform poorly for Ireland in loss to Armenia

Still would not have been pleased to see Saints duo Finn Azaz and Ryan Manning in Ireland’s 2-1 defeat to Armenia in Tuesday evening’s World Cup qualifier clash.

Towards the end of the summer window, Southampton signed Azaz from Middlesbrough in a £12m move for the attacking midfielder, who is in line for his Saints debut this weekend.

Manning has been in stellar form so far this season, with two stunning free-kick goals to his name already from the win against Wrexham and the draw at Watford.

However, the Southampton duo could not inspire a victory for Ireland against Armenia, with the shock defeat against a side 105th in FIFA’s world rankings leaving Heimir Hallgrimsson’s side on the brink of failing to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.

Of Manning, reporter Gordon Manning of The Irish Times wrote: “Unable to have the same impact he managed on Saturday.

“Slotting in on the left in Yerevan, he got caught between his defensive and offensive responsibilities often but did force a good save from (Ognjen) Chancharevich during the second half. Rating: 4.”

In regards to Azaz, Manning said: “Tried to set a positive tempo for Ireland by getting a shot off after only 22 seconds but like most of the Irish team he faded out of the game.

“Armenia looked stronger as the match went on. Rating: 4.”

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Will Still needs his players on top form for Southampton vs Portsmouth

Azaz was Southampton’s key summer addition, and Still will be hoping to see his form from international duty improve if the attacking midfielder is granted his Saints debut in the derby.

Ahead of the derby, Still told the Southern Daily Echo: “You can talk about tactical stuff as long as you want, I think the derby is there to be won and to do whatever it takes to win it.

“If you’ve got to throw yourself at anything, then that’s what you’ve got to do, and that’s what we’ll have to do. I hope that the players understand that.

“We’ll 100 per cent put that message out there because we obviously know how big and important that is to the city itself and to the people.”

With Still well aware of the gravitas that the derby result possesses on the South Coast, both Azaz and Manning will need to put their lacklustre Ireland form to bed quickly ahead of the Portsmouth visit.