Small details made the difference, says Davis

Second-half goals from Yaya Toure, Frank Lampard and Gael Clichy condemned Saints to their first home defeat of the campaign as Manuel Pellegrini’s side won 3-0.

Davis, back in the side after missing Monday night’s draw with Aston Villa through injury, admitted the Premier League champions had punished Saints.

Speaking to reporters after the game, Davis said: “We’re disappointed with how we played ourselves. We know we are capable of playing a lot better than that.

“After a slow start to the game we came into it in the first half. Second half they showed their qualities and punished us for the mistakes that we made.

“We were nervous to start but we felt we were building our way into it. We were looking quite good up until the goal, but it is the small details in a game that count. Toure has punished us and they made the most of the mistakes we made.

“I think the scoreline is a little bit harsh. We’re frustrated and disappointed after the game but we need to bounce back on Wednesday. Whenever you face the big sides especially they are ruthless and punish you and that was the case.”

The midfielder felt the reaction of his teammates showed the team has come a long way, adding: “The lads are so disappointed, we know we are capable of playing better than what we’ve shown. That’s a good sign of improvement as well. We’ve got another tough couple of games coming up, attention turns to Arsenal first and foremost.”

Davis was pleased to be back in action after missing the Villa game, but was disappointed to have lost possession to former Villa teammate James Milner in the build-up to City’s second goal.

“To be fair I opened up a little bit blind,” he said. “Maybe I felt the effects of not training for a couple of weeks when trying to get back it. It’s good to be back and it felt good having trained for the first time yesterday.”