RALPH Hasenhuttl thinks that victory over Arsenal has helped his players to believe that the hard work he demands is worth the effort.

The Austrian has been tough on his players since taking over, putting to one side any fears over a hectic festive schedule and instead focussing on the present and the need to improve quickly.

Hasenhuttl has had the players working hard at Staplewood, including some two-hour sessions, in a bid to understand the style of football he wants and to raise fitness levels.

He has asked for the players to keep up, both physically and mentally, and it all paid dividends as the team defeated Arsenal 3-2 at St Mary’s to really launch his reign as manager.

Hasenhuttl feels that such a significant win will only aid his cause.

“One or two players had real problems and Stuart (Armstrong) was running so much,” reflected Hasenhuttl.

“We know it’s very intense and a lot of hard running you have to do.

“We work very well. Last week we have a few very tough training sessions and the guys try to put on the pitch what we want to see and follow us.

“We invited everyone to follow us, every player to follow the way of football we want to play, and it’s important for them to see this is working against a very good team.

“This helps me a lot but them also.”

Hasenhuttl thinks he has laid much of the groundwork needed in terms of the basics of how he wants the team to play, and now it is about fine tuning and, hopefully, continuing to win matches as a result.

“The fundamentals are now built and it is for us to work on this and develop our game,” he said.

“It’s really enjoyable to work with this team and I’m looking forward.”

The star of the show against the Gunners was Danny Ings who returned from an injury lay-off to lead the line superbly, and bag two goals to help Saints to a win which lifted them out of the Premier League’s bottom three.

“An important player for us, no doubt, and not only because he scored two goals,” admitted Hasenhuttl.

“He attacked early and tried to win balls earlier together with other guys.

“I don’t want to pick one out because the whole team tried to win the ball but he was very intense and when you are intense you can score goals and win the game.”