Mark Hughes has no concerns ahead of his side's trip to the north-west as they face second-placed Liverpool in what will be a testing fixture for the south coast outfit, following their disappointing result last Monday at home to Brighton & Hove Albion.
Southampton's opposition will provide to potentially be their biggest test of the season so far; remaining unbeaten with a one hundred per cent record to dare and a last-gasp winner against European giants Paris Saint-Germain.
The Saints sit 13th in the Premier League on five points from their opening five outings - two above the bottom three. Although, Hughes isn't too concerned about his team's position in the table prior to the fixture against Jürgen Klopp's Liverpool.
“They are in outstanding form at the moment”
This will undoubtedly demand a gritty Southampton performance from the entire squad, but the manager realises this and certainly knows what it takes to walk away from Anfield with a result:
“A great performance in Europe and it’s going to be a test for us.
We understand that and that we are on a decent run in terms of confidence. Monday night was a disappointment, but if we had been poor then we would have more concern.''
The potential of gaining three points at Liverpool will definitely be a game changer in the direction of the Saints' team, and disrupt the host's chance of picking up the title at the end of the season, which is something Mark Hughes is aiming to do:
“We will go there with the intention of causing problems and taking chances when we create them. We have created chances and that’s not been a problem for us.”
“I think it’s one of those things''
The Saints have become renown for struggling to hold onto leads so far this season, dropping a total of five points from winning positions - which means they could be sitting within the top six at the moment. Despite that, Hughes isn't too worried about his defence on that front:
“Guys in the media will pick up on these stats but it’s not really something we are dwelling on. We are more concerned in how we are performing.''
There has been a catastrophic swing in attacking threat from Southampton since the days of Mauricio Pellegrino; creating more opportunities and appear to take their efforts when in the attacking third, something which is pleasing the boss:
“My view is we are performing at a decent level but we have more development to come. We are on the back of a three game unbeaten run and that’s how we focus.''
Following the visit to Anfield, the Saints wait a week to return to action when they travel to the West Midlands to face newly-promoted Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Quotes courtesy of Daily Echo