The final word on Southampton's 1-0 defeat to Burnley at Turf Moor

The difficulty with Saints at the moment is trying to figure out whether the results are more frustrating than the feeling of inevitability as to how they will arrive.

Burnley this weekend was a classic case in point.

Despite the Premier League being supposedly the best in the world, you arrived at Turf Moor knowing exactly what to expect, the likelihood of how Saints would react, and had a fair guess as to how things might end.

Probably the majority of people were about right.

Burnley were dogged, they were defensively strong, they worked hard, but had little quality up front. They made things difficult and were then hoping to find a goal from somewhere, maybe a set piece.

Saints were always likely to match them for defensive solidity and work rate – despite what some critics may say you cannot for one second accuse them of not trying – then have the chance to use their superior quality on the ball.

They would likely dominate possession, have plenty of the ball in good areas, create a few half chances, not score, and end up ruing a lack of cutting edge in the final third come the final whistle.

We have just seen it so often this season.

In the end, however, there was almost a frustrated shrugging of the shoulders from Saints fans watching their side as Joey Barton scored what proved to be the only goal of the game on 78 minutes.

The match had passed according to the script. Once again Saints came away with manager Claude Puel feeling they had done enough, frustrated over a lack of goals, and one scrappy finish had been the difference.

It is an annoying way to lose at any point. It is even more dispiriting when you feel as if it is more likely than not that the game will follow a certain pattern before a ball is even kicked.

Puel has really run out of ways to talk about it. His post-match comments do sound like an almost verbatim repeat of what we have heard so many times during the campaign.

Whether he is stuck for answers away from the glare of the spotlight only results and performances can ultimately prove.

What is for sure is that the context of the upcoming games has shifted yet again, as it seemingly does on a bi-weekly basis given the fixture pile-up.

It is now four Premier League defeats in a row for Saints, a run you feel they have to halt with a first top flight victory in a month when they host Leicester on Sunday.

However, just a few days after that they travel to Liverpool for the EFL Cup semi-final second leg, and carrying a slender lead.

In terms of Saints’ season and actually achieving something meaningful, Liverpool, you feel, has to be their top priority. That would normally mean resting a few players for Leicester.

But four losses in a row in the league – and the particularly costly ones against West Brom and Burnley – suddenly mean Puel probably feels he cannot afford taking a slight risk with the team selection to face the Foxes.

Does, then, he scrap a rotation policy he has stuck by all season? If not, where does he play his strongest team?

Most fans would urge Liverpool. Saints look as destined for midtable now as they have for the majority of the season, and so focussing on a cup you have already got so deep into makes sense. Puel, however, will not want to risk this Premier League run turning from troublesome to something more serious.

Saints did not create a glut of chances at Burnley, but they did have a few glimmers.

Dusan Tadic twice found himself in a shooting position at the far post inside the area in the first half but fired across goal and wide on the first occasion, with the second shot also looking off target but cleared by Ben Mee anyway.

James Ward-Prowse couldn’t get enough action on a header while Tadic had another effort blocked in what was about the sum of what could be described as the first half chances for either side.

Saints still had the better of the openings in the early stages of the second period, again they were hardly clear cut though with Nathan Redmond and Shane Long both putting wide.

Fraser Forster had to deal with a couple of efforts from distance from Burnley, but wasn’t overly worked.

However, he was beaten on 78 minutes as sub Joey Barton hit a low central free kick from 25 yards that somehow got through the wall and found its way into the net with the Saints stopper down late, presumably unsighted.

Saints might have levelled in the dying moments, but Virgil van Dijk could only head straight at Tom Heaton from a corner, while the Burnley stopper made a fine double save to keep out Jay Rodriguez and the follow-up from Josh Sims at his near post.

It was the inevitability of it that was as crushing as the result itself, and felt like such a bump back to reality after the pleasant surprise of the Liverpool win.

Now Puel must find a way to change the narrative to stop this kind of thing continuing to happen.