SOUTHAMPTON’S groundsman slammed Ruben Dias and claimed “you know nothing” after the Manchester City defender’s bizarre rant about the St Mary’s pitch.
Dias, 27, and his City team-mates were left fuming on Saturday afternoon as they could not score against one of the worst teams in Premier League history.
In fact, the 0-0 draw at St Mary’s ensured Saints moved on to 12 points and avoided equalling Derby’s worst-ever tally.
The result could have major implications at the top end of the table, too, with City still not guaranteed a place in next season’s Champions League.
And Dias’ frustrations boiled over into a bitter moan following the embarrassing result.
The Portuguese defender said: “We try and we must be better, we must be more dynamic, more quicker.
“It was also not easy to be quick because the pitch was just dry with the sun, it was hot.
“It’s sad that Southampton waste time the way they do. They just want to stop the game and make it as slow as possible because then the grass that is dry.
“But we need to be better.”
But that prompted a hilarious response from Southampton groundsman Steve New.
He took to social media with a picture of the St Mary’s pitch looking in pristine condition.
And New cheekily wrote: “@rubendias look at all the sand.
“And the irrigation was on early morning, pre-warm up, pre-game and for the whole of half-time.
“I respect your football abilities but you know nothing about being a grounds person.”
That prompted some witty and sarcastic replies.
One said: “I’ve seen worse carpets. Bit too salty eh Ruben.”
They just want to stop the game and make it as slow as possible because then the grass that is dry.
Ruben Dias
And another wrote: “Looks like a carpet. He’s just sad they’ve played us twice and only won 1-0 haha.”
Dias also complained about Southampton’s defensive unambitious tactics and accused Aaron Ramsdale of time-wasting.
The £64.5million centre-back – who is dating Maya Jama – blasted: “It’s obviously frustrating to play against a team like this.
“They don’t even try anything, they just sit and don’t even want to play or win the game, they just want to be there.
‘BACK-HANDED COMPLIMENT’
“It’s not good for the show, it’s not good for themselves, it’s not good for anyone. But it is what it is.
“The funny thing is we do what Aaron Ramsdale did once and straight away it’s a yellow card. He does it 20 times and it’s just play on.
“Obviously this slows the game and it just helps them consistently.”
Ironically, his own manager shut down the comments by insisting Southampton are free to “do whatever they want” in their approach to the match and admitted it was “on us to break them”.
Saints interim boss Simon Rusk also responded to Dias.
I respect your football abilities but you know nothing about being a grounds person.
Saints groundsman Steve New
He said: “What a player. It’s frustrating isn’t it, we did want to frustrate them.
“It’s a back-handed compliment. If we go toe-to-toe with them, we lose.
“We’ve got a fifth of their budget. We have to find our way and that’s okay.”
Southampton then brilliantly tweeted an hour after full-time: “A point without even trying to play.”
But another post from the Saints admin came under fire, when they sent a message to Derby after surpassing their lowly 11-point tally.
The club wrote: “Sorry if we got your hopes up, @dcfcofficial.”
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