Mauricio Pellegrino insists he remains patient with the club’s board as they work to try and deliver him new signings in January.

Frustration is starting to build in the fanbase after Saints completed a deal for Virgil van Dijk before the January window had even opened, but find themselves virtually three weeks into it and still without a much need fresh face.

Their top target, Theo Walcott, opted for a move to Everton, and Saints are now weighing up a potential club record £30m offer for Spartak Moscow’s Dutch winger Quincy Promes.

A deal for Monaco striker Guido Carrillo also remains a very live possibility.

Pellegrino is adamant the club have to deliver the correct players, rather than signing for the sake of it, even if that takes longer than anyone would want.

“I will repeat that I know, because I am every day with them, we are working really hard to try to move one step forwards in different aspects, players that can help us,” said Pellegrino, whose side take on Tottenham at St Mary’s tomorrow.

“If we are in this situation now, January 20, and no one is here, because we are pushing to try to bring good players, and good players are difficult to bring in.

“But I have to be optimistic that in the next few days something significant will happen.”

When asked how hard it was for him personally to be getting the flack when he isn’t the person responsible for completing deals, he replied: “When you observe the people that work with me, the people in this club, from the first day I feel they are working with me.

“I know what they are doing to try to solve this situation. I am working with them, I follow the negotiations, and I know they are doing everything to try to solve this.

“It's not just about our decisions, negotiations have two parts.

“If we are waiting now, it's because now we cannot be too anxious to try to make quick deals.

“We have to be calm even in difficult situations.

“I'd rather bring one player instead of three that we wouldn't be sure they would improve the squad.”