Nathan Redmond has been told he is one of a handful of core players Ralph Hasenhuttl wants to build his new look Saints side around.

The Daily Echo Player of the Season winner has really stepped up over the past year and started to deliver goals under Hasenhuttl.

His demanding manager isn’t done with him yet though and wants Redmond to use his experience to benefit the team still further.

He said: “It’s details and a lot of things I want to see from him next year also but in general it’s a lot about taking a lot of responsibility for the team because he’s now a very experienced player, a few years here now and a guy we want to build the team around.

“He, Pierre Hojbjerg and a few more players we have a good core and that’s the reason why we want to build a new team around these guys.”

Redmond’s improvement this season has been a dramatic one, and his ability to deliver in key moments has come on under Hasenhuttl.

“I think he made a very big development since I know him and I think it was in a meeting with him and I said I enjoyed very much to work with him so far but I can’t see the limits for him,” reflected Hasenhuttl.

“I want a Nathan Redmond who shows again he can make a difference in our game and that’s exactly what he wants to do.

“We will be focussed from the first day of pre-season to make him better.

“I am convinced about his qualities.”

When asked what he has worked on with Redmond to improve so much, Hasenhuttl replied: “The whole package. Working against the ball is the first one.

“If you invest a lot to win the ball back you help the team in the first defensive line and if you win the ball back then you are most of the time in a good position to transition forward but you have not the chance for a breather and you get the ball back.

“He has no physical problems because he can run a lot. He is one of the last guys we have who can run 120 minutes or more. It’s not a problem for him.

“In the end to bring him in position where he can maybe score more goals because he has quality and with his left or right foot and not so far the header.

“I think he was more often in positions where he can score and that was the reason he was there because we showed him more often that we need these runs, especially in the box and the same with Longy and the other strikers.

“We spoke about how many players scored since I was here. There are only three who didn’t score - Jannik, Jan Bednarek and Maya Yoshida.

“Nearly every player scored and this is normally a better signal for a team, because then you know they don’t only have to mark one player because if you mark him then the team is not so dangerous any more. You have to mark everybody and that is more successful.”