Mauricio Pellegrino has called on Saints to worry less about systems and styles of play and instead “defend what we are.”

The Saints boss has spoken a lot recently about the team’s battle to find an identity, with his side’s footballing style seeming, from the outside at least, still a work in progress.

However, Pellegrino insists that for him identity is not about a formation or a way of playing, but far more than that.

He said: “Identity for me is we have to defend what we are, and it doesn’t matter what happens in the score, on the pitch, with the opponent.

“To be really competitive as a team it doesn’t matter the style of play you can choose for your players.

“Identity is something you have to defend because we are unique, and we have to defend this overall.

“Sometimes, ok, I have to adapt because we have different profile of players, different qualities, and sometimes I have to change a bit because I think they will be comfortable helping the team.

“It’s not about systems, it’s about personality, it’s about to play as a team. That is something completely different than to play well. Be competitive is different to play well, and this for me is identity.”

Saints have another chance to try and build on their identity when they host Burnley at St Mary’s this afternoon.

It feels like an important match in the context of the season, with Saints wanting points on the board ahead of a tough run of games after the upcoming international break.

Pellegrino has hinted that he won’t make many changes from the side that started the 1-1 draw against Brighton for the visit of Sean Dyche’s side.

However, he does still appear to be searching for his best 11.

When asked whether he feels he knows his best team, he replied: “One thing is at the beginning of the season obviously I have got in my mind my best 11, but the best 11 in football, like our life, nothing is fixed.

“Because the football is changing, the player’s own performance is changing and the 11 starters is changing.

“It’s really difficult. One thing is to do your plan with 11 players you play in this way, but the reality is after completely different. The connection between them is different in the past.

“The managers for this reason we have to change.

“We talk after ten games and it looks a lot of time but it’s not a lot of time when you think about the evolution of the team.”