Dier on Ings

Eric Dier is well aware of the threat posed by Southampton frontman Danny Ings ahead of this afternoon’s FA Cup fourth round tie at St Mary’s (3pm kick-off).

This season, Ings has been in standout form for the Saints and is enjoying his best-ever campaign in the Premier League with 14 goals in 24 appearances so far. That has included two strikes against us – the winner as we suffered a 1-0 defeat on the south coast on New Year’s Day, while he was also on the scoresheet as we secured a 2-1 win in N17 back in September.

But our number 15 has been aware of the threat the frontman possesses since their days as team-mates in the England Under-21 set-up where Eric saw the forward open his account for the Young Lions in a 9-0 win over San Marino at Shrewsbury Town’s New Meadow – he scored a brace and assisted twice in that game.

Looking ahead to today’s cup meeting, the former Sporting Lisbon man discussed what makes Ings such a handful to play against and what we need to do in order to progress to the next round of the competition.

“I think he has a lot of qualities,” Eric explained. “He obviously had a very difficult period which has sort of disguised that with the injuries he has had.

“Now he's fit, he's getting to show his ability so I’m really happy for him that he has got past his injuries and that he’s doing so well.

“I think he’s a very well-rounded striker, he works hard for the team both going forward and defensively. He holds the ball up well and he can present difficulties when he finds space, running in behind or coming short, and his finishing is very good both inside and outside the box, so he has a lot of qualities.”

On our game plan for this afternoon, Eric continued: “Having played Southampton a number of times with them under (Ralph) Hasenhuttl and with that group of players, I don’t think they’re unfamiliar to us – especially having played them very recently as well. They are doing really well at the moment so that makes it a difficult game.

“We know how good we can be, and we know if we are at our best, we can overcome anyone and this test against Southampton is no different. They are doing well and it’s a difficult place to go with their fans behind them so it presents a significant challenge for us.”