Southampton's Rusk on Still, Stewart and Taylor - every word

How pleased can you be with that final-day performance?

SR: Yeah, really disappointed that we didn't manage to get the point because I thought, looking at the context of everything, we deserved it.

I'm going to say that because of the effort and the commitment that went into it again, but yeah, there's loads to be encouraged about. 

Really for Ross Stewart to get that goal, really pleased with Jay Robinson and his full debut. We're close to getting what's a really good point.

In the end, we didn't, but I think there's lots to like about today.

Lots of players unavailable, what was thinking with your team?

SR: Well, I think the credit to the players there, because actually you just reminded me of that. And as the game went on, I forgot that.

We were missing so many players. There's probably four or five who could arguably go into the back line unavailable for various reasons.

Charlie Taylor was exceptional today, really nice for him because he's endured a tough year. Credit to the players that they pulled together.

We spoke about the importance of, you know, making sure that we stay tight, we stick together, we have a spirit and unity about us.

We wanted to finish the season with as much pride as we can and I think the guys can look in the mirror tonight and be proud of themselves.

How was Taylor out of the squad all season after that performance?

SR: Sometimes it just happens, doesn't it, that people fall out of favour, get injuries at the wrong time. Other players step in.

Changing managers probably doesn't help. I'm the third one this year and sometimes time runs out with a couple of lads in my seven games.

Maybe it's not helpful that we had a perfect storm of a big squad and games Saturday, Saturday, Saturday, with no midweek games to mix it up.

Up until this week, very few injuries. So someone like Charlie who's not been in the mix all year can maybe become a victim of them circumstances.

What have you said to Stewart after scoring first goal?

SR: I've not spoken to him yet. I addressed the whole group, but when I have a moment with him, I'll be sharing how delighted I was for him.

It's nice for him to score a goal, a moment with the supporters. I'm sure it will mean a lot to him based on the couple of seasons that he's suffered.

Would you want him at a Championship team you managed?

SR: Yeah, for sure. I think for him now, hopefully that's a platform that can build his confidence with his physicality and find a nice rhythm.

I think there's no doubt about it, if he can get that, then he'll be effective at that level.

Could Jay Robinson play in the first team next season?

SR: I don't see any reason why not. It's nice to see young players, you know, particularly with the history of this club, step in to the team. 

And I think the last game, the game at Goodison Park, and the game today, he looked every bit a Premier League player. It's good for him.

What are your thoughts on the appointment of Will Still?

SR: First of all, congratulations to Will on the appointment. I'm sure he's had to work very hard to get a job at a prestigious club such as Southampton.

I've not had the chance to speak to Will yet but I think it's good now that there's a bit of clarity for everyone.

Does your role now involve having a chat with him?

SR: If I'm honest, I'm completely uncertain about what the next steps are. My focus has been on supporting the players and the club.

We've been through what's been fairly unique circumstances with seven weeks to go relegated in the Premier League.

We were a side that haven't won many games and had a points record to remove, I think an experienced manager would have found that challenging. 

So my focus was on supporting the players and driving the club forward as I've said, you know, all along that that is what comes first.

Now this bit's done and them objectives to a large extent have been achieved, I'm sure I'll get some direction on what's next.

What do you think Still will have learned from watching this match?

SR: Well, everyone views football differently but I would like to think that he saw a team that in spite of difficult circumstances were committed.

They were running for each other and wanted to have an element of dignity to how they finished the season. Hopefully, that will be encouraging for him.

What do you personally want to do for work next season?

SR: I answered the question the other week, I'm really open-minded about what's next. I've been a first-team coach. I've been a 23's manager.

I've been a head coach in my own right and I'm still fairly young. There's room for me to be open-minded about what the next steps are for me.

How bad is Jack Stephens injured with a fractured wrist?

SR: Yeah, it's been a remarkable week in many respects. Obviously, Jan Bednarek is still struggling with his knee injury. 

Taylor Harwood-Bellis gets a very significant enough injury last week. Then Jack, in innocuous fashion, fractures his wrist in training.

We've got Armel Bella-Kotchap, who's ill, we've got Tyler Dibling with a tight hamstring, it sort of came out of nowhere really, a bit of an injury crisis.

Hopefully they can recover fairly swiftly over the summer period but I am not too sure about the overall prognosis on them injuries.

Will Harwood-Bellis miss the Under-21 European Championship?

SR: That's my assumption, yeah.

What is the latest on recovering goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu?

SR: I think he's making really good progress. I think the idea is that he can take part in pre-season so, hopefully for him, that's the case.

How impressed have you been with the Saints supporters?

SR: I think it's credit, the supporters have been great. I also think it's credit to us as a whole club and a whole group that we've stuck together.

With these seven games I inherited before the end of the season, there was always going to be some difficult results along the way.

I don't think you're going to go from winning two games all season at that point to with seven games to go, winning three or four or five?

It would have been wishful thinking but it just wasn't going to happen. I knew there was going to be a bit of choppy water in maybe one or two.

Overall, the supporters can see that we've done our best in what's been quite extreme circumstances. I think they could see that today. 

We were desperate to give them something to go on the summer break with in terms of a point. We couldn't quite achieve it in the end.

But the solace in it was that we fought and we had moments against a top side. We can be really optimistic about what's next as a football club.

How big a lift has their support given you over your time?

SR: It's lovely to hear that they're looking forward to the game. It's been a challenging seven weeks and it's really nice to hear that.

It makes me feel like some of the work that I've gone after has kept that alive and that was important to me that we worked with high standards.

To remove the points record and give some young debuts, and that we were competitive in games against Man City, Arsenal, Aston Villa, Fulham.

These are good teams for the level and it was important that I set the team up in a way after we've seen some of the results this year.

They've been tough, haven't they? And I didn't want that for the players and I didn't want that for the supporters.

I think overall it's nice to hear that because I think largely the objectives that I was given in a certain respect have been achieved.