Ralph Hasenhuttl makes 'a lot of money' point ahead of Danny Ings reunion at Aston Villa

Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl has spoken of Aston Villa's spending power off the back of the £30million deal to snatch Danny Ings last summer, and said: "They took our best striker for a lot of money and they are very ambitious."

The Saints chief, up for manager of the month off the back of three wins and a draw in February, was asked if Villa's ambitions match that of Southampton's as the two clubs vie to compete for European qualification.

Hasenhuttl's men are ninth and are into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup while, for Steven Gerrard, he hopes for a real crack at the top-six next season knowing he'll be backed handsomely once again in the summer.

"In terms of financial strength, or whatever, [Villa] are investing more than we do," Hasenhuttl said.

"They took our best striker for a lot of money and they are very ambitious but we are also ambitious with our limits as a club.

"You see that it's not always about how much money you spend. It's about how you spend it.

"For us, we had a very good transfer window in the summer. We made some good moves and we have a very balanced, very young and very hungry squad and it's a fantastic atmosphere to work in at this moment, for me as a manager and for the players. At the moment, everything flows really good."

Ahead of the Villa Park meeting this Saturday, Hasenhuttl has a few more injury concerns off the back of Saints' 3-1 win over West Ham in the FA Cup last night.

Kyle Walker-Peters and Shane Long picked up knocks and had to be taken off at half-time, while Mohammed Salisu and Mohamed Elyounoussi weren't risked against the Hammers.

"Longy had a harsh impact in the first-half and that's the reason why we left him in the dressing room at half-time," he added.

"Kyle