Claude Puel has explained the logic behind his decision to switch to a diamond formation and change Saints’ style of play this season.

As Saints head into today’s game against Sunderland at St Mary’s hoping for their first win under the new boss, much scrutiny has been given to the new look system, and the pattern of play.

Saints have left behind a high tempo game, and are not pressing as high up the pitch, instead preferring to sit deeper and dominate possession.

It is a deliberate tactic from Puel with a fixture pile-up in mind.

He explained: “For example, for the future, for the Europa League, for the international game, it’s important for the team to have good control of the game.

“It’s not possible every time, every game, to play with fantastic energy and to compensate losing the ball because with games every three days it’s important to have good control of the game.

“For example, we can see the game against Watford and the first half you don’t have a team to go in the duels with the profile of their players.

“We don’t play our football in the first half, it’s the football of Watford and that is not a good thing and we lost 1-0.

“In the second half you can see another game and other players with good football and it was very difficult because the team of Watford played with the lines closed and without space and we had possibilities to score three or four goals in this half.

“It’s important, for example, to play the counter attack because if you defend together with good recoveries it’s important to take space.

“It’s important when you play against Watford, and again Sunderland perhaps, with a big block, to find a solution as just counter attack is not possible.

“I would like for the future that my team can make our game against all opponents – United, Sunderland, Europa League – to have our game and it’s better to take confidence and to believe in our game.

“This is important for me but it is difficult at the beginning when you change some details with the pressing and recovery and more quick players and not just to come back and make a block in defence.

“It is perhaps difficult ambitions to put in place yet, but the future I think it’s important and interesting because it doesn’t matter what team we play against.”

Puel was asked whether the biggest challenge will be overcoming teams who are prepared to defend deep and in numbers at St Mary’s, but instead said it was the late return of his Euro 2016 stars.

“The big challenge for us and the difficulty is to receive and to see the come back of the international players late, because half of the team don’t train with us, don’t make the two training camps which is very important pre-season,” he reckoned.

“They come and they take the training after and it’s difficult in two or three weeks without friendly games to work and to see all the details.

“We can see on the friendly games good development, good progress on the play, and after with the international players for example are not the same level physical and tactical.

“It’s important step by step to breed our collective with them and also with this work to take points at the beginning of the season.

“It’s important for the confidence and this is a challenge for the start of the season because the tactical level and physical level between the players is different and this is difficult.”