We bring you the key points from Ralph Hasenhüttl's latest press conference, as the Saints boss previews Saturday's trip to Burnley and the final day of the transfer window...
On Crystal Palace…
“After sleeping one night, it feels we earned a big, important point yesterday.
“We know we didn’t play our best game – we were a little bit slow in our decision making.
“We all have to be patient – myself, the supporters, everyone – because in such games against such an opponent, it’s very difficult to create chances.
“The perfect example was the goal. Ten seconds before the goal the fans were [anxious] because we didn’t play forward, but ten seconds later they were celebrating a fantastic goal.
“It’s a kind of learning we all have to do. For us, it was a completely new game because it was the first time we’d had more ball possession than the opponent. To get used to this will take time – that’s the next stage of our development.”
On team news…
“I don’t know how Pierre is with his head. That was a hard hit, but he’s a strong guy and I think he can handle this. Otherwise I don’t know of any injuries.”
On Burnley…
“To be honest, until now I have only focused on our game yesterday evening. Our scouts will have all the information on our opponents, so after this press conference we will start to prepare the team for Saturday’s game.
“We know they (Burnley) played a good game against Man United and nearly won.
“It’s the same against Burnley as it was against Crystal Palace – an opponent in our relegation battle who are fighting for every point.
“At the moment, the teams in this zone have a great mentality, because they know how important it is to take points, especially in these duels against opponents in their area.
“My team showed yesterday the mentality and character to go for the equaliser – you could feel they tried everything to score. The game on Saturday and against Cardiff will be the toughest games for us.”
On the pressure for points…
“I feel it since the first day I was here. If you’d told me when I was starting that on this matchday we are three or four points ahead of Cardiff, I would’ve said ‘perfect, I’ll take this’.
“It was pressure from the first day. I knew it would take until the end of the season, but these two games can be a crucial step in the right direction.
“The team is unbeaten in 2019 until now – two draws and two wins in the Premier League – that’s more than we could expect.
“We are still not at the end of our development, so we have a lot of things to improve, but I think we are in a good way and we will try to protect this successful way we are in at the moment.”
On transfers…
“On the last day, there are always some options that pop up to give us a chance to get an interesting player.
“We are still busy and the last day is when everyone stops playing poker. The cards come on the table and there is no more wasting time. It could be that we do something today – let’s have a look.”
On Che Adams…
“I don’t want to speak about special names. I want to speak about the general situation of the last day of the transfer window.
“Suddenly, things you were interested in become possible. You grab it with both hands if it is there, but we are still working on a few things.”
On Charlie Austin…
“We did what we wanted to make the group smaller, but now it’s the size of group you can work with.
“It’s not necessary to send anyone away anymore, so we don’t want to send him away.
“If there’s an option that he can make a good step and we get someone else in for him, it could work. It can go very quickly in that moment, so let’s have a look.”
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