Friday 26 December 2014 14:08, UK
Southampton youngster Harrison Reed has given manager Ronald Koeman a selection dilemma ahead of Friday's game against Crystal Palace.
The 19-year-old starred in Southampton's 3-0 win over Everton last Saturday, which ended a run of five successive defeats.
With midfielders Morgan Schneiderlin and Victor Wanyama returning from suspension on Boxing Day, Koeman must decide whether to retain Reed's services.
"I like to have that kind of choice," he said. "If I have confidence in the player, the player has the chance to play."He started in the team and that means a lot, that means the coaching staff has a lot of confidence in the player.
"It was a difficult situation after some defeats but it was a good moment to bring Harry in against Everton because of the energy he gave to the team. That was fantastic."
Youth
If you are working hard the technical staff here are always open to giving young players a chance.
Koeman’s squad against Everton last weekend listed seven academy graduates, with Reed taking centre stage after an impressive showing.
The Saints are able to boast the third youngest team in the Premier League this season, and Koeman has shown he is not afraid to call upon youth when being hit by injuries and suspensions.
He said: "For young players it's always good to have that chance to play first-team football because the whole academy can see there are possibilities and you will get a chance if you are doing well."
"If you are working hard the technical staff here are always open to giving young players a chance.”
And despite Southampton’s recent drop in form, the Saints are still placed fifth in the league, with the chance to leapfrog West Ham into fourth on Friday if results go their way.
Koeman, who has expressed his desire to qualify for the Europa League next year, knows every game is vital, and wants to continue winning ways when they travel to Selhurst Park.
"At the start of the season, if they had shown me a piece of paper to sign that said we would be fifth in the competition at Christmas I would have said 'okay'," he said.
"I am very proud and happy about that. We have had a bad two or three weeks with some defeats even though some of them were maybe unlucky.
"We had a good game against Everton, we played with good organisation and little by little during the game we got our confidence back.
"That's the most important thing now, winning games brings confidence back to the players."
