Diamonds look like being forever at Saints. Well, under Claude Puel at least.

The new manager has made a bold tactical change in pre-season, and with little over a week until the start of the Premier League campaign it seems as if it is here to stay.

Gone is the formation that has served Saints so well over much of the last three seasons, with the 4-2-3-1 favoured in various formats by both Mauricio Pochettino and Ronald Koeman now seemingly out of favour.

Puel clearly has his own ideas and is pressing ahead with plans to play a back four, a diamond midfield containing a deep lying central midfielder and a number ten sat in behind two strikers.

What also seems clear is that Nathan Redmond is very much being seen as a striker, and he looks like potentially being one of the first names on the team sheet for Watford in that role.

It is certainly brave from Puel, make no mistake about that.

This is a squad of players who are used to playing a certain way, who understand different variations on the theme from time under two different managers and are undoubtedly very comfortable with it.

Puel has not brought in half a new squad to change things around, and instead is using much of what has already been playing 4-2-3-1 to figure in the new set-up.

Saints are still getting to grips with it, and against Espanyol in the first of a quick-fire double header of friendlies at St Mary’s it produced a mixed performance.

There were some very encouraging signs. Some of the good linkup play and quick and slick attacking moves were excellent.

Redmond does looks dangerous dropping wide to collect the ball and cutting inside. It does remind, in style at least, of Thierry Henry, who Puel brought through.

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg looks a useful acquisition, and could play more advanced than the deep lying defensive shield midfield role.

Saints also seem to be under instruction to build patiently from the back, and they are able to keep possession.

However, the wide areas remain a concern because of the narrow nature of the formation.

It also does not really play particularly to the strengths of Charlie Austin, whose goalscoring is surely going to be relied upon.

All in all the Espanyol game was enough to show promise, while still also suggesting there is a bit to get to grips with yet.

With a number of first team players such as Jose Fonte, Cedric Soares and Ryan Bertrand yet to feature, it will of course evolve naturally, but time is ticking now.

The first chance of the match fell to Espanyol as Marc Roca Junque hit a shot from just outside the area that was straight at Fraser Forster.

The Spanish side were only to muster one other opening in the first 45 minutes as James Ward-Prowse’s blocked clearance fell kindly into the path of Leo Baptista. The striker’s low drive struck the near post.

Saints were in control of the majority of the rest of the half, even if the pace was general pre-season interspersed with some nice moments.

Ward-Prowse had a couple of early sighters with a free kick that deflected wide off the wall and slicing a Shane Long cutback.

Redmond hit a quick right footed shot that Pau Lopez saved at his near post, struck a sweet first time volley from Cuco Martina’s cross from the right that the keeper did well to turn wide and dragged off target after cutting in.

Dusan Tadic also had a couple of openings from his number ten position. A poor headed clearance gave him a snap chance to try and loop a header back over the keeper but he could only pick out Lopez.

He struck a wonderful 20 yard free kick from a central position that went over the wall and dipped but was turned over by the keeper.

The only goal of the half came on 32 minutes as Ward-Prowse whipped in an inswinging left wing corner that was met by the head of Oriol Romeu, who was remarkably untroubled in a crowded penalty area. The Spanish midfielder flicked his header into the opposite corner.

The second half was a slightly more subdued affair, probably to be expected with a number of changes for both teams during the break and as the half wore on.

Romeu’s weak back pass just after the restart gave Jose Reyes a sight at goal but he fired over before Saints stepped it up.

Charlie Austin forced the keeper into a save with a low drive from 20 yards and Redmond pushed forward and cut in again but fired wide.

Alex McCarthy was in action for the first time just two days after joining the club, saving from Pablo Daniel Piatti, but there was nothing he could do about the equaliser on 69 minutes.

Mike Dean awarded a penalty as Baptista went down in the area under the challenge of Virgil van Dijk. It looked a little harsh but it wasn’t a pretty tackle.

Felipe Caicedo stepped up and sent McCarthy the wrong way from the spot.

Steven Davis, who looks like having to vie for one of the two central midfield roles in the middle of the diamond, was on hand to stop things getting worse as he cleared Oscar Duarte’s header from a corner off the line at the far post.

When Austin got the kind of service he needs he looked dangerous. When Martina got the ball in from the right he came alive and headed narrowly wide while Jay Rodriguez had a late cameo and flashed a shot across goal but just over the bar.

Puel will now be keen to see further progress on Sunday in the last chance saloon before the big kick-off.

Saints: Forster (McCarthy 45), Martina, Yoshida (Jones 83), van Dijk (Stephens 83), McQueen, Romeu (Reed 71), Ward-Prowse (S Davis 45), Clasie (Hojbjerg 45), Tadic (Rodriguez 71), Redmond (Isgrove 71), Long (Austin 45).

Att: 8,984