Of all the results this season, one that won’t be forgotten from the record books anytime soon will be Southampton’s 9-0 home loss to Leicester City back in October.
Ralph Hasenhüttl’s side were decimated by Brendan Rodgers’ men, and while it was bad for fans to witness, it was equally terrible for the players on the pitch on the end of that result.
The Southampton squad, as an apology, donated their wage from that week to charity, which will have included Pierre Emile Højbjerg, who was the captain on the pitch that day.
Speaking to BT in his home country over the international break, the midfielder recalled what went through him at the end of the game.
He said: “I was left with a feeling that it was really, really embarrassing. You are really embarrassed. Then you also ask yourself a little if you deserve to be where you are”.
BT state the player had to dig deep to ‘find the motivation to move on from the experience’, and, at the end of the day, it came down to his current situation.
He explained: “Although it sounds bad to say (after the result), I’m actually lucky. When I started playing football, the dream was to make a living from it. Then there was perhaps a bigger dream of playing in the Premier League and then an even bigger one of being a leader and joining the national team.
“Those were the things I just remembered. That I am still living my dream. Sometimes it’s not fun, and as terrible as it sounds, sometimes the bad days are needed to know what the good days are, but I don’t think anyone needs bad days like those”.
A rather humble way of looking at things, and a very self-aware one, knowing full well he is privileged to be in the position he is in.
Not all players are like that, after all.
