Jack Stephens: 'I wanted to prove people wrong. I'd been written off'

05-Jul-2020 07:00:35 | The Guardian

The Southampton defender on his key role in the club’s revival after being dropped, keeping himself entertained during lockdown and his ‘Cornish Maldini’ nickname

When Southampton returned to training last month, it was a case of getting the band back together. Not only is Ralph Hasenhüttl at home on a grand piano and Shane Long partial to an end-of-season singsong but Danny Ings and Jack Stephens share the same guitar teacher. “I like the older rock and indie music whereas Danny loves Ed Sheeran so he learns all of his stuff, but that’s not for me – I’m more Oasis, Beatles,” says Stephens. “Danny’s quite competitive with it but I don’t take it too seriously. Well, either he’s quite competitive or our teacher is just playing us off against each other.”

The enforced Premier League break presented Stephens with the perfect opportunity to pick up the plectrum and in March he and Ings featured on a charity single in aid of Naomi House & Jacksplace, which provides hospice care to children and young adults.