As Southampton prepare to embark on a big run of games through to Christmas, beginning with Saturday's home match against Watford, Ralph Hasenhüttl has called on his side to show the same ambition and emotion they did at Arsenal.
Last Saturday, Saints came within moments of securing their first Premier League victory at Emirates Stadium, only for Alexandre Lacazette's added-time equaliser to salvage a 2-2 draw for the Gunners and send the visitors back home with two fewer points than their performance deserved.
ralph hasenhüttl
we showed our fans a very ambitious and emotional performance and this is exactly what we have to do now.
southampton manager
Had they held on, it would have provided a tremendous platform from which to enter their upcoming games against Watford, Norwich, Newcastle, West Ham and Aston Villa, who are all part of the bottom seven with them.
Nonetheless, having witnessed his side out-shoot Arsenal 21 to 12 on their own turf, Hasenhüttl was far from downbeat, and he now wants to see his players hit the same levels when they take on their 20th-placed opponents tomorrow.
"It was a better game from our side, but we didn't win," he said. "In the end, it didn't feel like getting something positive although we had this point against Arsenal away.
"But I think it was a good game from our side. We performed better and showed our fans a very ambitious and emotional performance and this is exactly what we have to do now in the next weeks.
"Let us look at the first game and then to the next ones. It's not interesting what is following.
"Every game in the Premier League is a tough one. You have to put everything on the pitch to get something and this is what we know and it's good now that we have found back a little bit of self-confidence.
"This is very important for us and that gives us a lift, absolutely, and we need this lift that we can put it on the pitch from the first moment on, that we can invest a little bit for the fans and for the crowd, and they help us then – creating chances, showing that we are on the front foot and then we need the crowd to support us, because we must turn the table at home.
"The crazy thing at the moment is that in the away games we score very soon always and at home we have the opposite experience – it's really strange. But we have to turn the table now.
"We have to be clear what we need to win games at home, and we can do this. The players are believing in what they're doing and I think a few habits and a few triggers for our game we found back in the last game and this gives us a little bit of self-confidence."
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