Ralph Hasenhuttl relished the chance to hand Callum Slattery his full Premier League debut against Burnley at Turf Moor.

The 19 year-old played his first 90 minutes in the top flight in the 1-1 draw against one of the most physical teams in the country.

Hasenhuttl believes having him in the squad vindicates the decision not to add to it during the transfer window.

He said: “I know there were some voices that said ‘we don’t sign players in the transfer period’ but we played with a lot of young players and Callum Slattery had his first game in the Premier League.

“We have a lot of new players signed from our own youth team and Slat is another one of the good young guys in our club.

“Maybe we didn’t sign a new player but we have four or five young players who have made their first steps in professional football; players like Valery, Ramsay and Slattery.

“They can be our future. Although we didn’t sign a new player, for me we have a different team now.”

Hasenhuttl, who also included Saints U23 captain Alfie Jones in a matchday 16 for the first time, was pleased with the manner of his side's performance, despite the concession of a last-minute equaliser. 

He added: “We showed it’s not so easy to beat us at the moment.

"Against any style of football we have good solutions, we make good decisions.

“We defended very well till the 94th minute. It feels more like losing but I would have taken one point before the game. We’re still unbeaten.”