Paul Fennessy

REGARDLESS OF their identity, footballers will go through difficult periods.

Last season, Lionel Messi experienced what was widely regarded as the worst spell of his career, scoring just six goals in 26 league games for PSG. Now, he is a world champion having won the Golden Ball in Qatar.

A year and a half ago, Harry Maguire made the Team of the Tournament at the Euros. Now, he struggles to make the Manchester United starting XI.

Gavin Bazunu is not at their level and does not yet have the profile or experience of the two aforementioned players, but like them, he has been talked up for most of his career, and suddenly, is now on the receiving end of significant criticism.

Since turning 16 — the age he made his senior debut for Shamrock Rovers — the Dubliner has been in the spotlight.

Already, he has made over 100 appearances at senior level.

Last year was unquestionably the best season of his career so far — he was named Portsmouth’s Player of the Season, won the RTÉ Young Sportsperson of the Year, and made the League One PFA Team of the Year.

Bazunu also memorably saved a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo in a crucial World Cup qualifier with Portugal and gradually established himself as Ireland’s number one.

This excellent form prompted the youngster to sign a five-year contract with Southampton for a reported fee of £12 million (€13.6 million).

Following a series of incredible highs, there was bound to be a dip at some stage and that is what he is experiencing currently.

The 20-year-old had a poor game on Saturday and should have done better for the first and arguably the second goal that the Saints conceded against Brighton.

There was also a moment to forget for Bazunu during the week as he conceded an avoidable own goal in the EFL Cup clash against Lincoln, though Southampton still fought back to win 2-1.

After yesterday’s game, Saints manager Nathan Jones defended the embattled goalkeeper, saying: ”Gav’s a fantastic prospect, he’s had one or two difficult moments recently but he’s a fantastic keeper. I’m not going to come here and chastise him.”

Yet the coach, who succeeded Ralph Hasenhüttl in November, also explained that backup goalkeeper Alex McCarthy missed Saturday’s game with an ankle injury.

It is fair to say that so far, Bazunu has not been getting the type of plaudits in England’s top flight that he routinely received at Portsmouth and Rochdale.

His age and lack of Premier League experience mean he is bound to make mistakes, while ‘the youngster’ is always an easy scapegoat for the generally much more complex reasons behind a team’s failings.

For Ireland too, however, there have been a couple of difficult, nervy moments — the 3-2 win over Armenia last September was another sign of low confidence as he could have done better for at least one of the long-range goals.

But playing for a side with a clear lack of confidence running throughout the team is a particularly taxing challenge.

Southampton have conceded 30 goals from 16 games and are rock bottom of the Premier League table on 12 points.

Not all their problems are down to Bazunu, but there have been at least a couple of occasions during the campaign where he could have done better.

Whether a Southampton side braced for a relegation battle have the patience to stick with the player remains to be seen.

Especially at the elite level, football can be a ruthless game.

Yet Bazunu has not suddenly become a poor footballer. He has played far more great games than bad over the course of his career and only a special talent could be playing Premier League football at this age.

This season has unquestionably represented the biggest challenge of his career thus far, but the mental aspect of the game is something he has worked diligently at for years.

Ask any coach who worked with Bazunu as a youngster (or at least, a younger player than he is now) and they will tell you one of his most impressive traits was an ability to recover from mistakes and play on as if they had never happened — a vital characteristic for goalkeepers at the top level.

Working with a psychologist is nothing new to him. For a profile last year, a Man City source explained: “The conversations that he has with our goalkeeping coach [Xabi Mancisidor] every week with his performances, conversations that he has with our psychologist to work on the mental side, Gavin just is a sponge that wants to learn as much as he can and improve as much as he can.”

Consequently, there is no reason why the inconsistent form Bazunu has shown in recent months will prove to be nothing more than a minor stumbling block.

Southampton had enough faith to pay big money for his services and so this early rocky spell is unlikely to drastically change their long-term outlook.