Southampton’s Selles explains reason for substituting Che Adams

The Scottish striker made his return to the starting line-up after being absent for three games, and was taken off in a double substitution in the 63rd minute.

Adams assisted Charly Alcaraz’s match-winning goal, and a small section of the home crowd booed when his number came up on the fourth official’s board - questioning the decision to take him off.

Selles clarified the situation after the game, saying: “We knew that Che (Adams) could not endure 90 minutes.

“To bring on Adam Armstrong on the right side was more about keeping the same profile (as Theo Walcott) - somebody who can attack the space, somebody who is working hard and a player that we trust. I think he proved his football there.”

Paul Onuachu was left on the bench and failed to get onto the pitch, after also being left out of the squad for Wednesday’s FA Cup game, with these being the first two matches he has missed since joining Saints on January’s deadline day.

In each of the three games that he has managed so far, Selles has made double substitutions in his frontline - with Armstrong and Sekou Mara replacing Adams and Walcott in the latest switches.

Despite not having kept a clean sheet at home prior to the game, Selles opted for these attacking changes late on - making an effort to defend from the front rather than to try shut up shop with defensive substitutions instead.

When asked the reason for this, the manager responded: “We prepare a gameplan, and our gameplan includes ‘what ifs’ and how we approach the game in different situations.

“Paul is a different player than Sekou, and Sekou is more dynamic in pressure, and today we needed that, especially for the last minutes.”

He added: “Maybe it was the wrong selection, and maybe we needed Paul to defend the set-plays, but that was my selection and I tried to keep the team as high as possible even though in the last 10, 15 minutes we were really low.”