NATHAN Jones launched a defence of struggling striker Che Adams after another one-on-one miss, saying: “He gets big chances and that’s his work and movement.”

The 26-year-old has spurned a number of golden opportunities as new manager Jones looked to nail a first point as a Premier League boss.

The latest of those was in the first 10 minutes of an eventual 1-0 defeat to fellow relegation battlers Nottingham Forest, which condemned Saints to the bottom of the division for a further week.

Such are the Saints tactics, Adams is number two in the entire league for aerial duels contested and number one for aerial battles lost – but he is also in the Premier League’s top 10 for big chances.

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Despite this, he has scored just four in 17 appearances with two of those coming at Leicester in August, another as the winner at AFC Bournemouth and finally in Jones’s first match.

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“He gets big chances and he’s probably one of the only ones who gets big chances, that’s his work and his movement and that’s how it is,” Jones said, asked about the striker’s form.

“Being a Premier League striker is tough, we want him to take those chances and at Fulham he also had chances, but his all-round level and the way he works and grafts, he’s been excellent for Southampton.

“He just needs to keep working and there are signs, although I understand the frustrations,” the Welshman added.

“We have to make sure we turn our structure into a bit more attacking potency and we might need a little bit more help on that, but the club are working tirelessly. If we bring it all together, then we get a performance, we get a win and then things can change.”

Up next, Saints visit Crystal Palace in the FA Cup on Saturday, January 7 (12:30PM). Adams is likely to lead the line with Jones hardly boasting extensive options in attack.

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