Southampton manager Nathan Jones said the “blame lies solely with me” as bottom-of-the-table Saints lost to Nottingham Forest for their sixth successive Premier League defeat.

In the 27th minute, Lyanco carelessly lost possession on the halfway line with Brennan Johnson capitalising and racing clear before he pulled it back for Awoniyi, who buried the chance – only Forest’s second away league goal of 2022-23.

The Saints failed to have a shot on target and are yet to pick up a single point from four matches since Jones replaced the sacked Ralph Hasenhuttl in November.

“We need to be better. It’s all on me, I fully take the blame for that,” Jones told Match of the Day.

“The blame lies solely with me, I set them up, asked them to do certain things but we need to give ourselves a better opportunity to win the game.

“We can’t gift a goal a game and we’ve done that almost every game. Something has to change quickly and we need a bit of luck.”

Improving Forest have now lost only two of 10 games in all competitions and moved above West Ham, Everton and Bournemouth from 18th to 15th.

Southampton are in their 11th successive top-flight campaign but have now only won once in 13 in the league since beating Chelsea 2-1 on 30 August.

At both half-time and at the end, the home fans booed their team off the pitch and Jones could understand why.

“The crowd are frustrated, we’re bottom of the Premier League and they want to see more quality,” added the former Luton Town boss. “Pretty much everything we have to do better.

“We have to keep clean sheets, take chances, show more bravery in the final third.”

Southampton captain James Ward-Prowse urged his side’s supporters to be patient and added: “We as players know and understand their frustrations. They have to bear with us, it’s a different squad to one we have had before.

“We’re in early days with the manager and it’s going to take a bit of time. Obviously time is not our friend and we need to turn it around quickly.”

‘I really challenged the players’

Before the match began, it featured the side with the worst home record against the team with the worst away record.

Che Adams had a glorious chance to put the hosts ahead after only six minutes but shot wastefully wide from inside the penalty area.

That proved costly as Forest, with just two points from their previous eight games on the road, hit the crossbar through the impressive Johnson before he set up Awoniyi 15 minutes later for the opening goal.

The first half got even worse for the hosts when centre-back Armel Bella-Kotchap, a member of Germany’s World Cup squad although he failed to make an appearance, went off injured after only 34 minutes with Duje Caleta-Car replacing him.

The atmosphere was turning with Southampton giving their fans little to cheer for the remainder of the half, with the team booed off at the break.

Sekou Mara had a rare chance for the Saints in the second half but headed wide, although it took a deflection and was wrongly given as a goal-kick.

Jones made an attacking triple substitution in the 64th minute, with Joe Aribo, Samuel Edozie and Adam Armstrong all coming on, but none of them tested Forest goalkeeper Dean Henderson.

Forest then handed a debut to Brazil international midfielder Gustavo Scarpa after he became the club’s 24th signing of the campaign when he joined Forest on a free transfer from Palmeiras last month.

The visitors were happy to defend deep with Willy Boly, Joe Worrall and Serge Aurier all superb for Forest as they frustrated the hosts.

“It’s better to be out of the bottom three than in it for sure but it’s one step at a time,” said Forest boss Steve Cooper. “I really challenged the players to get the first away win and challenged myself and the staff, we’re all in it together.

“We have had a couple of chances to get out of the bottom three, now we’re out, but the objective is not just to stay out but move up the table.

“There’s a long way to go and tough moments make you stronger.”

Singh Gill makes league history

History was made at St Mary’s with Bhupinder Singh Gill becoming the first Sikh-Punjabi to serve as an assistant referee at a Premier League match.

The 37-year-old, who qualified as a referee at the age of 14, said earlier that he hoped to inspire the future generation.

“My dream has always been to reach the top of the game, be a role model for future officials and encourage more people from diverse backgrounds into officiating, especially from a South Asian background just like me,” he said.

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