AS ADAM Armstrong and his partner bring new life into this world, the forward will hope new manager Nathan Jones can breathe life into his Premier League career.
The 25-year-old and his wife, Rebecca, who have spent over 10 years of their lives together, welcomed baby Axel Thomas at the start of the World Cup break.
Armstrong became the third Saints player to become a new father within weeks, after Moussa Djenepo and strike partner Che Adams.
Former manager Ralph Hasenhuttl spoke of how becoming a father can give you new enthusiasm in every walk of life – and Armstrong could need it.
He has been a regular player for Saints this season and started for Jones in his first game as manager at Liverpool. But yet, his only goal this term came in August.
“I always want to play and I think every footballer will tell you the same thing,” Armstrong told the Daily Echo.
“But it’s how you react to it, how you keep your head and you just have to work hard every day to put things right.
“And becoming a father is something that’s very exciting, it will be our first child so it’s something we’re looking forward to,” he added.
“Something amazing is happening, I’m a very family-man, so it’s something I’m looking forward to. It’s going to be tough but I think it’s the same as anybody in any walk of life. Being a parent is going to have its own challenges.
“It’s something I maybe won’t want to take into work, all the stress, but no I’m excited! All the advice I’ve been given is to get as much sleep as you can I think!”
Armstrong has scored just three in his 52 appearances in the Premier League and his confidence looks some way away from his Saints debut at Goodison Park last August.
The former Blackburn Rovers man had supporters singing that they had found their Danny Ings replacement and although he looks back fondly, work to reach that level continues.
“A first Premier League goal was a lot of emotions that day and yeah it’s something that brings back good memories,” he added.
“I think the first season is always going to be tough. Learning new ways to play, learning how Southampton plays, it’s something I worked on and I came back in pre-season, kept my head down, kept working hard, and it’s something that I’ll always do.
“I think I work hard every day to make my strengths and weaknesses get better. I’m always pushing myself to be the best. I’m hoping to do a lot better.
“I think the best thing we have in the squad is we never want to get too down, always work hard in training to put things right and it’s something we’ve been working on this season and hopefully it pays off.”
It has been all change for Armstrong since arriving in summer 2020; a number of senior players in the squad left this August while the manager and coaches are also all new.
“It’s tough but that’s life as a footballer. I saw that early on in my career - people come and go and you make friends and you either keep in touch or you don’t but it’s one of those things,” he added.
“We’ve lost a few senior players but we’ve brought in experience as well as young lads who are fresh and ready to go so I think the balance is perfect.”
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