Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl fears the threat posed by Sheffield United

Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl has warned his side not to think they will have an easy trip when they face Sheffield United on Sunday.

The Blades prop up the rest of the Premier League after picking up just one point from 11 games so far, with six defeats in a row.

Hasenhuttl’s well-prepared side, meanwhile, head into the weekend’s fixtures in fifth place and on the back of just one defeat in their last nine games.

The Austrian, however, will allow no complacency on Sunday when Southampton welcome back 2,000 fans to St Mary’s Stadium for the first time since March.

“Before the game (on Monday night) everyone said ‘Brighton, they’re not that bad’, then after you win, (everyone says) ‘yeah, it’s just Brighton,'” the Southampton manager said.

“But it’s not ‘just Brighton’, it’s definitely a strong side and you always have to be careful how you discuss your opponents.

“If it’s not a big top-six club, then (people say) every time ‘it’s not that difficult’ – but that’s not quite right.

“I told my players we did a fantastic job (on Monday), it’s not easy to win there but we went there and changed the game to win 2-1 which was a fantastic performance from us .

“What we did there with the same intensity, defending the ball with everything we have, we have to do the exact same job next weekend.

“Then you’ll hear ‘it’s just Sheffield United’ again – but no, it’s not ‘just Sheffield United’.

“This is a team that definitely fights for everything and to win against a team like that is always a tough challenge for us.

“You’ll see how focused and focused we are, we just need the three points as a focus to give our all, and that’s what we’ll do.”

Hasenhuttl believes one of the keys to Southampton’s consistency this season has been that everyone has bought into the same mindset.

“We’re not holding (position), we’re still developing, we’re still working hard on our game,” said the Southampton manager, who reported no fresh concerns over the selection after Monday night’s win.

“It’s interesting to listen to the players talk about tactics and solutions with the ball, after training they talk about it.

“That’s definitely what I like to see, that they really participate in every session and really think about what we’re trying to do.

“This is a fantastic atmosphere to improve – if you just want to keep what you have, that’s not enough, you have to develop and expand your skills, that’s what we’re trying to do.”