Ralph Hasenhuttl identifies clear Southampton problem and makes formation admission after draw

Ralph Hasenhuttl says he recognises Southampton’s weaknesses at the top of the pitch and is working with his squad to improve it on the training pitch.

The Saints concluded their pre-season tour of Austria on Monday night with a goalless draw against SK Austra Klagenfurt at the Worthersee Stadium, squandering several chances - including a missed Adam Armstrong penalty - to take the lead in the game.

Southampton also struggled in front of goal in their previous friendly in Austria - a 3-1 defeat to RB Leipzig in Wolfsberg - where, despite Armstrong finding the net in that game, they once again failed to conjure up too many clear-cut chances despite seeing a fair amount of the ball.

Speaking to after the game on Monday night, Hasenhuttl said: “We had some good chances, the better ones I think. But in some moments defensively, especially in the first half, we were slightly riskier. We struggled with some moments.

“But the defensive work is better than our offensive work at the moment. We have definitely missed a few good opportunities to score. The best one was the penalty but also we had other good situations where you have to score. This is our problem and we know this and we have to work on this.”

The Saints lined up with a three-man defence for the second game running against Klagenfurt, utilising two wing-backs that pushed up high and wide with a defensive midfielder dropping deep to help the back line out when out of possession. Against their Austrian Bundesliga opposition, this worked well in periods, though fans have been calling for a return to the team’s more familiar 4-2-2-2 in a bid to improve results during pre-season.

This is something that is not lost on Hasenhuttl though, who said he wanted his side to