JAN Bednarek wants Saints to show a “merciless” side to their game against Burnley this weekend.

The St Mary’s outfit missed a bucketload of chances in the away defeats to Liverpool and Tottenham prior to the winter break.

In the most recent FA Cup tie with Spurs, Saints dominated proceedings throughout but squandered a narrow lead in the final 15 minutes to end up losing 3-2.

When asked about their dominance in matches, Bednarek said: “It’s a positive but we are not getting points for that or advancing to the next round.

“There is still a bit to learn more and to do it even better by being even more merciless.

“I think we will do it because that’s what we are missing to be a big team.”

It’s clear for all to see that Saints have been a completely different side since Ralph Hasenhuttl reverted to his 4-2-2-2 formation.

Hasenhuttl admitted himself that he made mistakes in the first few months of the season but then went back to what he knows best in November.

This then saw Saints embark on an excellent run of performances, which included wins over Chelsea, Tottenham and Leicester.

“I think we found our way, we found our system and we found our philosophy,” claimed Bednarek.

“That’s been the main thing and we haven’t been changing formation every game which has helped us improve.

“I think it’s really difficult to play against us and we can cause many problems.

“There is still a small bit to improve because when we take the lead we need to still be relentless in the opposition’s box.

“That’s something to improve and we still have the time to analyse that and get better.”

Saints’ press is led by duo Shane Long and Danny Ings, with neither striker giving the opposition any respite.

Although it’s already been successful on multiple occasions, Bednarek believes their intensity when piling on the pressure will only get better.

He added: “I think we can feel that it’s really good what we do.

“When we speak about pressing I think it’s really difficult for the opponent to play out from the back because there is a really good intensity.

“I think there are still some parts to improve because we can still learn and get better.

“I think we have shown that every game is winnable, and we need to keep going, keep working hard and we will get points."