Ronald Koeman says he will not rush Jordy Clasie into playing a full 90 minutes for Saints.

The Dutch midfielder joined in the summer but a couple of niggling injuries early on in his Saints career have prevented him from gaining full fitness.

Koeman has managed Clasie before at Feyenoord, and admitted to having previously spent months playing him for no more than 70 minutes as he built up the £8m man’s strength.

In Clasie’s five starts since joining Saints he has lasted on average 70 minutes, and Koeman insists he will continue his cautious approach.

He said: “He came out of an injury and he had not the whole good pre-season in Feyenoord and you have to look after those players.

“He is not like that physical player and then you have to look after the player a little bit more than normally.

“I know because I did the same in Feyenoord.

“For one season he was on loan to a smaller club in Holland and he came back to Feyenoord.

“I think the first three or four months I took him out of the pitch always after 70 minutes because that was enough.

“You have to help. You have to protect the player as well in the physical state of the player.”

Koeman is already planning Clasie’s week after admitting that the Dutch star is not yet fit enough to play three games in such a short space of time.

Saints face Manchester City today, Liverpool in the Capital One Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday and then Aston Villa in a week’s time, but Clasie will not be considered to start all of those games.

“He’s settled in in a good way,” explained Koeman.

“It’s not difficult to settle yourself because it’s a big, good, high spirit in the team and he needs to be now to have time to play. That’s no problem.

“We have a tough week coming up with three games, three difficult ones.

“He don’t start in all because he’s not really three games in a week. He needs more fitness for that.

“He is growing, he is trying to do his best and maybe he needs a little bit more time than other players and that’s no problem.”

Koeman is wary of a Premier League trend of throwing players in for extended spells too soon, and the injury problems that can lead to, and is determined not to make that mistake with his squad.

“I know the players. I have that experience with them,” he insisted.

“It’s easy to kill players, and to push them and to push them, but then you will get big injuries.

“We try to look after that.”