Claude Puel has called upon his side to find a more clinical edge, after they were defeated 1-0 by Burnley at Turf Moor in the Premier League.
Despite creating a number of good chances and restricting their hosts to very little by way of anything clear-cut, Joey Barton’s free-kick in the 79th minute was the decisive moment.
After a frustrating afternoon, Puel reflected: “We are not clinical enough in front of goal with all the chances away. I don’t know how many chances we can have today.
“We lost the game without many opportunities, apart from at the end when we push, for the opponent.
“We need to show good efficiency, be more clinical and things will be better.”
Saints have now competed on three fronts in January, with an FA Cup replay against Norwich City next on the agenda at St Mary's on Wednesday night.
“We have played in three competitions this month and it’s important we continue this work and recover also,” Puel continued.
“When you saw the last two games, it was at a big intensity in terms of character, quality and concentration against Liverpool and against Burnley.
“We deserved the win against Liverpool, without a second goal. We’ve had a good attitude, good spirit and it’s difficult when you can do strong work with quality to lose a game like this one (against Burnley).”
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