Claude Puel believes Saints will really see the benefit of his rotation system during the club’s winter fixture pile-up.

Saints are in the midst of a crazy run of nine games in 30 days. With a two-legged EFL Cup semi-final to come in January and the prospect of qualification for the knockout stages of the Europa League, there is little respite on the horizon.

Puel has taken the option of making a large number of changes for every game to try and get fresh players into the side, and as the fixture congestion really bites he hopes it will pay off.

“I hope we can have the benefits of this rotation also during this difficult period to stay with good results and good performances on the pitch, of course,” he said.

“I have the habits with many seasons to train or to play every three days with all my clubs, except Nice.

“It was all the time possibilities, opportunities, to play every three days and for me it’s a good thing.

“I prefer to play every three days and to prepare one week the next game.

“It is important a high level with the ability to continue playing this game with the same performance, the same quality and I like this and the players like this also. They prefer playing different games than making training sessions every time.

“Winter is an important moment because some differences can do on this period.

“I think it’s important to prepare this like we can do in this moment with different teams, different possibilities.

“We play after another game and it is another game because it is management of player, management of team, and you start since the beginning of the season and continue in winter.

“I hope we can continue this work for the second part of the season. It will be the result of the qualifying in the semi-final of the cup, the Premier League, and the objective in the Europa League.

“It is very important for the squad to continue all this many games for the second part of the season.

“It will be the result of good performances before January.”

There has been much talk over whether English football needs a winter break, and if the fixture congestion is too much for teams.

Puel concedes it is extremely tough.

“It is very difficult for the team, for the players, without recovery and with strong games,” he reckoned. “Injured players, it is always difficult.

“This calendar is in place and my job is to try and give every time a good answer, and the good answer for me is to prepare the team to play every three days with different possibilities and different players.

“We hope we can have players in a good fit for this period, and keeping the possibility to change and to rotate the team and to keep the performance.

“I believe we see this with all the many games we can play since the beginning of the season. “We will continue for January in the same place.”