Southampton are regaining belief after strong displays in their last two home games and must stick to their philosophy when they host West Ham United at St Mary’s Stadium on Saturday, manager Ralph Hasenhuettl said on Thursday.
The Saints ended a run of eight matches without victory by defeating visitors Watford 2-1 on Nov. 30 and sealed only their second home win the following week by beating Norwich City 2-1.
Although Hasenhuettl’s 18th-placed side fell to a 2-1 defeat at Newcastle United last week, the Austrian said home comfort could help their quest to get out of the relegation zone.
“We’ve shown in the last two games at home that we can win. Two good results have helped us massively... the self confidence is coming back,” Hasenhuettl told a news conference.
“The most important thing is to focus on the way we want to play, our philosophy... the intensity of the game must be high in our stadium. “If we do this we have a chance to win at home.... it’s an important game against an opponent that is near us.”
West Ham are 16th with 16 points, one more than Southampton, and their manager Manuel Pellegrini is under pressure having lost seven of their last nine matches.
“We all have periods where things don’t go in the direction we want, due to problems with injuries and things like that,” Hasenhuettl said.
“You have to handle these issues and I don’t have to tell him what he has to do because he’s an experienced guy... it’s better to concentrate on our game and issues we have.”
Defender Yan Valery is unavailable due to a viral infection while midfielder Sofiane Boufal is on a reduced training plan to manage a toe injury. Stuart Armstrong (hamstring) is in line to return from injury.
