Saints boss thankful for international break, ready for Wolves test

Cape Town - Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl reckons the international break was a timely one for his charges as they prepare for a tough trip to Wolves on Saturday.

Saints went into the two-week hiatus after suffering three straight Premier League defeats - to Bournemouth, Tottenham and Chelsea - the latter a 4-1 drubbing at St Mary's.

The boss has been able to work with many of his squad and will hope for improvement when he takes the side to Molineux to square off with Nuno Espirito Santo's charges this weekend.

Many managers do not like the interruption of an international break but, with not too many of his men disappearing, the Austrian tactician feels he has got through some decent training sessions.

"The good thing was we had a lot of players here and not too many away on international duty over the two weeks," he said. "That gave me the chance to work on a few weaknesses in our game that we have seen in our last two games."

Saints sit 17th at present, having won just two league games this term, but they are only a couple of wins away from being in mid-table due to the congested nature of the top-flight standings.

Punters looking to use a might fancy them to get something from the Wolves clash. However, the West Midlanders are in decent form, with seven points picked up from their last three outings.

Hasenhuttl expects to be up against it after Nuno guided his team to an unlikely win against Manchester City last time out.

"They showed how well organised the defence is against Manchester City, you get less time and space to create chances," he added.

- TeamTalk Media