Southampton all but confirmed their place in the Premier League tonight with a 1-0 win over Swansea City. The result means they are three points and nine goals clear of Swansea with a game left. However, they had to overcome some unusual difficulties prior to the game as their hotel and bus plans fell apart.
There were suspected dirty tricks at play before the game, as the Swansea Marriott hotel told the hotel their booking no longer existed due to a 'virus' but were still accepting bookings from the public. The club had to organise another hotel 35 miles away and then on the way to the ground, the players had to walk the final section of the journey as they were told the alternative was a 25-minute wait on the bus.
In a pre-match interview with Sky Sports, Hughes hit out at the standard of the hotel.
Actually, they've done us a favour. The Swansea Marriott is one of the poorest hotels we've stayed in. We'll just use this as extra motivation. If we keep doing the right things, we'll be OK.
Nevertheless, it did not affect them, as Southampton claimed a close win thanks to a Manolo Gabbiadini close-range finish.
The hotel in question released a statement surrounding the incident, after Saints fans began to leave negative reviews on TripAdvisor.
We were made aware late last week of a small number of associates and guests becoming ill. As per our normal procedures, we notified large group bookings in order for them to find alternative accommodations, should they choose to do so.
