SAINTS goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu admitted being dropped by former manager Ruben Selles was a “surprise” but insisted "the main feeling was disappointment”.

Republic of Ireland international Bazunu struggled to get to grips with the League One to Premier League jump following a highly-anticipated summer move from Manchester City.

Of the Premier League’s starting goalkeepers, the 21 year old had the lowest save percentage – however, he was one of the youngest players in Europe’s top leagues to play nearly 3000 minutes.

Ralph Hasenhuttl, Nathan Jones and Selles all kept faith in Bazunu – until it was already too late, with the Spaniard benching him after they had blown a 3-1 lead in added time at Arsenal.

Alex McCarthy was restored to the XI but fortunes did not change– Saints conceded 17 goals in their remaining six matches, picking up just one point on the final day against Liverpool.

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“It was obviously a surprise but the main feeling was disappointment. It’s definitely something I have had to try to take a lot of positives from,” Bazunu said, reflecting with the Daily Echo.

“With every situation, there is silver linings. I took what I could and I’m using it to fuel myself for this season.

“He (Selles) provided his reasons – he just wanted to make a change and I had to respect his decision as he was the manager at the time, so I just have to use it to fuel me for now.

“It was definitely a disappointing moment for me. As footballers, you’re all going to have massive setbacks and that was a setback for me but you have to move forward.”

While it was a difficult year – and a few nervy moments followed Bazunu into pre-season – the likes of Emi Martinez (Oxford United), Aaron Ramsdale (Chesterfield) and Nick Pope (Cambridge United) were all playing levels below, at his age.

He added: “For me, no matter the opposition, even when playing in League One I was still facing top opposition for my country, it’s about always playing at the highest level possible.

“The biggest thing for me was setting the right foundations, getting out as early as possible and playing men’s football. Playing at Rochdale at such a young age was a massive part of my learning.”

Bazunu could benefit from the introduction of manager Russell Martin – while shot-stopping and domination of the area should always take precedence, City-schooled Bazunu’s ball-playing and distribution are strong.  

Dean Thornton, Martin’s long-term trusted goalkeeping coach, has spent over 15 years working his way up after starting his coaching pathway with QPR’s academy in 2007, having worked with McCarthy previously with his own goalkeeping academy thriving in the background.

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Bazunu played an additional 90 minutes over McCarthy in pre-season, including in the games which featured stronger XIs against Reading and AZ Alkmaar – however, he stops short of confirming that he has been told he is Martin’s number one.

“It’s the same as usual, whenever I get the chance to be on the pitch I have to perform as well as I can – everyone is just looking forward to Friday for the opening game,” he said.

“The biggest thing is that the manager has come in and given us real structure, everyone knows exactly what they need to do and you can see already how much people are picking up the information.

“I’ve been working with Dean now for the last three or four weeks and he brings a real experience and energy to the training sessions. From what I can see, we all enjoy working with him.”

Bazunu is also enjoying watching the Irish contingent in the Saints group grow, as compatriots and international teammates Will Smallbone and Ryan Manning have added to the group.

Smallbone, a Saints academy graduate, spent last season on loan at Stoke City, while Manning was brought in having excelled under Martin at Swansea City during the last two campaigns.

“It’s brilliant to have two lads in – Will and Ryan – having known them previously, (they are) good guys but more importantly really good players so I’m looking forward to playing with them,” Bazunu added.

The former Shamrock Rovers man made the short trip back to his home country at the start of July in order to help launch one of his old clubs’ new initiatives.

Daily Echo:

Bazunu donated 5000€ worth of boots for The Hoops’ new ‘Boot Room’ before speaking at its launch, with the aim to ensure every kid in the academy has access to boots but also learns to value and look after their equipment.  

He explained: “It’s an initiative that was an idea from one of the parents at the club as a lot of parents struggle with having multiple kids in the academy.

“Some kids will need multiple pairs of boots a year so it was just about what can I do to help them? It’s a great initiative and I was able to help them out.

“If any kids are struggling they can go to their manager or people who control the boot room. It’s brilliant for me to be able to go back home and help.”

The Bazunu family remains close to Shamrock Rovers – and not just because Gavin progressed through the academy to play first-team football at the age of 16 before becoming the country’s number one.

His schoolboy brother, Todd, is now making his own name in the academy – having travelled with the men’s squad for their Champions League qualifiers.

“At the age he is now he is probably better than I was,” Bazunu joked. “He travelled with them to Iceland and was in the squad for a home match of a Champions League qualifier as well.

“It’s brilliant for him to have that experience. We’re obviously brothers but we’re very different people in terms of personality.”

He added: “He’s a bit more out there than I am and we don’t really speak too much about football because he’s got really good people around him, similar to when I was there.

“They know what to do but the basics I’ve told him are just to keep your head down and keep working hard.”