Only a matter of time until Southampton start scoring again – Ralph Hasenhuttl

Ralph Hasenhuttl is not worried by Southampton’s misfiring form in front of goal, insisting it is only a question of time before his side starts scoring again.

The Saints head to Manchester United on Tuesday evening having drawn blanks in five of their last seven Premier League matches.

Since putting three past Sheffield United in mid-December, Hasenhuttl’s side have netted the same number of goals in eight league fixtures and have not scored in the second half.

But ahead of his side’s trip to Old Trafford, Hasenhuttl said: “I don’t like these stats because in between those matches we had two FA Cup games and against Shrewsbury we scored in the second half.

“So what does it tell you? We had chances in every game and it is not interesting for me whether you score in the first or second half.

“The good thing is you should score from time to time and this is what we do, although at the moment, not enough. It is not so much to worry about if you have the chances and you don’t do it.

“Man City won 1-0, Palace won 1-0, Manchester United and Arsenal drew 0-0, so we are not the only team at the moment that has problems scoring.

“But I see us creating a lot of chances and it is only a question of time before we score again so it doesn’t worry me at the moment.”

Southampton moved to the summit of the league in November, but they travel to United bidding to avoid a fourth consecutive defeat having slipped to 11th in the table.

Asked if the current period was among the most challenging of his career, Hasenhuttl, who lost Ibrahima Diallo, Theo Walcott and Oriol Romeu to injuries in the 1-0 home defeat against Aston Villa on Saturday, replied: “No. It is not long ago that we won against Liverpool.

“Things can change quickly in football particularly when you have injuries, which are a massive problem for us at the moment.

“This is definitely tough but on the other side, the good thing is that we have 29 points.

“We had some really strange moments not that long ago, when we were at the bottom end of the table and we were struggling massively.

“That has gone and we are in a better mode, and although we didn’t win the last games. We will come back on the winning track, that is for sure.

“We know that we can be competitive against United so let’s go there and do our best. ”

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