SAINTS boss Ronald Koeman insisted there was no complacency from his side after their two-goal lead went to waste.

Koeman cut an exasperated figure on the touchline as Saints squandered their advantage against a vibrant Leicester City.

Leading 2-0 at half-time, Saints were on course for victory. Then Nathan Dyer and Riyad Mahrez were introduced and Jamie Vardy struck the first of his two goals midway through the second half.

But Koeman insisted Saints were well aware the game was far from over at the interval.

He said: “We spoke about how we had to manage the second half, we knew about their changes and didn’t have the feeling it was over, with 45-50 minutes still to play.

“We’d scored great goals from the set pieces, our strengths, but knew from the start it was going to be difficult.

“We still had to fight and we know they have an unbelievable spirit.”

Koeman criticised his side’s ‘game management’.

“We have to learn to manage the game,” he said. “The first goal came from Virgil trying a nice pass and the second is out of a goalkeeper’s kick and it’s 2-2.

“It should not be possible at this level that they score out of that. You have to understand and know the qualities of every player.

“We know Kelvin is an experienced goalkeeper but he doesn’t kick as far as [Kasper] Schmeichel so we had to expect that.

“That’s about managing the game. Maybe they need more time to understand when you can build up and when you have to play the long ball. We have to do better at that.”

Koeman admitted that Dyer and Mahrez were a big factor in Leicester's turnaround.

“It was a good way to change the team at 2-0 down,” he said. “Two good players, one fast and a good cross for the first goal and Mahrez is a quality player.

“We had more problems than we had in the first half.”

Koeman rued Sadio Mane’s failure to find the back of the net after rounding goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel five minutes into the second half.

“We had the best chance to kill the game from Sadio,” he said. “After dribbling round the goalkeeper you at least have to shoot on target.

“If you get that opportunity you have to kill the game but at 2-1 it was more difficult. Maybe they were more fresh at 2-1.

“Leicester pressed much more in the second half and we were not good enough.”

Asked about two-goal Jamie Vardy, Koeman added: “Good striker. Aggressive, fast, fighting spirit. I like him.”

Meanwhile, Saints hope Maarten Steklenburg will be fit for this weekend’s trip to Liverpool after injuring his back in training.

“We have to wait in the next couple of days,” added Koeman.