Ralph Hasenhuttl is prepared to give a professional debut to at least one youngster in tomorrow’s game against Manchester City in a further blow to some of the Saints squad’s established stars.

Kayne Ramsay, the 18-year-old right back, could be handed a first Premier League start against the champions with Euro 2016 winner Cedric Soares now seemingly frozen out.

Tyreke Johnson has also appeared on the bench in recent weeks and is hoping for a place in the squad, and potentially even the team.

Soares joins the liked of Wesley Hoedt and Manolo Gabbiadini as established internationals who continue to be overlooked while Hasenhuttl prefers to play youngsters with little experience.

He said: “Cedric was injured and we played against Cardiff and Arsenal he wasn’t part of the team.

“After his injury it’s always the same if the guys who play in your position do it well you are out and you have to wait.

“We have Ramsay as a substitute on the bench and we only need one for this position as he can play both sides like Cedric also does.

“We want to give the young players a chance and (Yan) Valery and Matt (Targett) made a very good game in recent games and are very much sprinting and running deep and Matt had a few assists also so at the moment he (Cedric) stands behind, he has to wait and if he gets a chance he must show he deserves to play.”

He added: “Our philosophy is to give the young player a chance for the future because they are our future.

“I want them to be part of the squad and it can happen with Ramsay in the next game against Man City he can get a chance to play.

“I’m looking to build something here and new players are the future for this club.

“We have a few jewels in the academy and my challenge is to work with them and make them better and that is only possible if you give them a chance against good teams. Why not?”

Though Hasenhuttl batted away talk of whether some of these senior players could be sold in January, he was unconcerned by whether they liked the way things were going or not.

“It’s not about being happy, it’s about being successful,” he insisted. “At the moment the only goal is to be successful.

“Last week showed the guys are on this train now and working hard for this team.

“They had earned two successful games so for the others it means they have to wait and when they come back they have to show us they are as sharp as the others and try to put everything on the pitch like the guys did the two games before.

“The first 14 games we made nine points which is not enough in the Premier League and if we had won (against West Ham) that would have been nine points from four matches.

“We didn’t and it’s a long way.

“I can’t have a view on the personality and the future of every player.

“For me it’s important to build something up and bring the squad back to a successful period.

“That will be hard enough and I need the guys who are really working towards that for sure.”

Hasenhuttl wants to freshen up his team for the visit of City but finding the players he wants to play who are in peak physical condition given the demands of the fixture schedule is not easy.

“I must say yes because we don’t need only freshness but also quality as we’re against Man City but I’m looking forward and am not so pessimistic about not finding them,” he insisted.

“We play at home and the supporters know exactly what will happen as we face one of the best teams in Europe on Sunday and it can be a big experience for young players and I’m not afraid to put one or the other in from the beginning. Why not?”