It was back on the opening day of the season that Southampton last faced Burnley – and Ralph Hasenhüttl wants the latest meeting between the teams to show how far his side have progressed since then.

Saints were beaten 3-0 at Turf Moor in early August as their campaign get off to an inauspicious start, but their recent form has shown the strides they have made since then.

the first game against burnley we lost, so we have to show that we can do it better. ralph hasenhüttl

southampton manager

Now, Hasenhüttl wants to provide further evidence of that improvement.



"It's a good opportunity, absolutely," he said. "We can show that we are better now. We're playing a different shape and hopefully also a different style, and hopefully it will be more successful.



"It was a long time ago [that we last played them]. It's time to take another win at St Mary's. It's a tough opponent, not an easy game. There are a lot of things we have to pay attention to, and the first game against Burnley we lost, so we have to show that we can do it better."



But, even if Southampton are better than they were on the first day of the season, Hasenhüttl knows it will not be a straightforward game.



"Everybody knows they are a robust team, who are well organised, and with their set-pieces and high balls into the box they are always dangerous," he said. "They have good strikers who can always score, so it's a dangerous opponent."

Hasenhüttl welcomed his players back to Staplewood this week following a short winter break, in which he was able to give them five days off.



While the FA Cup replay with Tottenham had shortened the gap in their schedule considerably, the Saints boss believes his players have still felt some benefit of their time away.



"It was good," he said. "They had a schedule to work a little bit, with some running, but they had five days off and have come back with a lot of energy and wanting to work hard again.



"There has been a lot of talking between the guys and you can feel there is a good commitment and they enjoy working on the pitch. Being back on the ball is good for them, and it's fantastic."

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